This article describes a research study of Oregon juvenile corrections educators. The study examined the understanding the educators had of their role in the special education process and how that understanding influenced their instruction for students with disabilities.

The research involved interviews with respondents representing the Youth Corrections Education Programs in Oregon. The data revealed five leading issues for regular education teachers in the juvenile corrections education programs. The issues that emerged were accommodations for students with disabilities, responsibilities for the delivery of special education, special education eligibility, student medications, and transition services. The educators believed the special education personnel and administrators were primarily responsible for the education of students with disabilities.

Implications are drawn for educational practice and further research. Discussion in the area of educational practice centers on professional development for regular education teachers in special education law and student eligibility. An alternative role for the special education teacher is proposed, incorporating classroom modeling and consulting. Finally, the topic of adaptive curriculum to accommodate the needs of special eduction students is considered.

The student population of juvenile corrections education programs is a unique assembly. Many of these students were public school dropouts at an early age; therefore, they tend to be two to three years behind their peers in academic skills (Rider-Hankins, 1992). One major difference between the juvenile corrections residents and the public school population is that a significant portion of the students in corrections education qualified for special education services. However, very few of the juvenile corrections educators I have talked to or worked with have had specific training for working with a large population of special education students.

National studies disclose that high percentages of youth in juvenile correction facilities qualify for special eduction services. The prevalence of students in juvenile corrections education who qualify for special education is estimated to be from 30% to over 70% (Bullock, 1994; Casey & Keilitz, 1990; Leone, Meisel, & Drakeford, 2002; Rutherford, Nelson, & Wolford, 1985).

Regular education teachers typically receive little instruction in the area of special needs students even though they are required by Federal and state law to participate in the development and implementation of student Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Educators working with youth in correctional institutions seldom have background or training in special education beyond their basic initial teacher preparation. Corrections educators are unfamiliar with special education law, their required role in the student IEP, or how these components should influence their classroom practice. Knowledge of characteristics of disabled youth is needed to allow educators to design and modify the general education curriculum to meet the needs of these students in juvenile correctional facilities (Platt, Wienke, & Tunick, 1982). Currently, in Oregon, teachers in the youth corrections education programs are only required to hold a Basic or Initial Teaching License at the middle or high school level, or a vocational licensure. There is no special training for either the correctional aspect of the teaching environment or for the high prevalence of special needs students in the classroom.

The goal of this study was to communicate the results with the Oregon Department of Education and the Youth Corrections Education Programs. The hope is that the information collected will be used for improving staff development regarding instructing special education students in the juvenile corrections classrooms.

Educator Interviews

The purpose of the study was to investigate the comprehension of juvenile corrections educators regarding special education and how that understanding influences their instruction and practice for special needs students. Personal interviews and demographic surveys were conducted with teachers from 12 statewide youth correctional facilities in both a face-to-face and telephone interview format, since the educators in the study were located statewide. The interview questions were designed to disclose the knowledge these educators have concerning their awareness of special education law and its impact on their special needs students.

Phase I

Phase I was conducted to check the interview protocol for ease and depth of understanding on the part of participants. Twelve teachers from one school within the Oregon Youth Corrections Education Program (YCEP) participated in the initial interviews.

The initial interview protocol consisted of exploratory, open-ended questions aimed at encouraging the participants to give their personal knowledge, opinions, and beliefs regarding the special education process for their students, their involvement in the IEP process, and to ascertain how their knowledge affects classroom practice. The participants were asked a structured set of questions concerning teachers’ roles and responsibilities in the IEP team, awareness of their responsibilities to the implementation of the student IEP, and awareness of responsibility to the specific accommodations, modifications, and supports that must be provided to a student with disabilities.

In the district I work in, just like others across the United States, special education departments have been dismantled and special education certifications have been debunked.

Because special education certifications no longer carry the same weight as other teaching licenses, said educators no longer have the right to teach their own classes. This has lead to most special education students being taught in regular education classrooms.

This type of inclusion does not always work.

In theory, this form of mainstreaming may seem ideal for special education students, since they are now in an environment with their peers and have the support of another teacher in the room that will adhere to all IEP requirements, including test modification and extended testing time. In practice, however, this only furthers the euphemism of the dreaded No Child Left Behind Act, which seeks to dismantle the public education system through unattainable goals of proficiency for all students by 2014. This can also further isolation of the aforementioned students and distractions to regular education peers, resulting in stagnated social development and more frustration.

Money and Education

Some mainstreamed students do very well in a regular education classroom, provided they have assistance in implementing their IEPs, but not all special education students work well in this type of environment.

Most districts hope to save money by placing disabled children out of the small, specialized classes that many of them need to succeed, and instead educate them in a classroom where they will compete with non-disabled peers. About 5 1/2 million children — 11 to 12 percent of the average public school’s population — are categorized as having special needs. The U.S. Department of Education estimates the cost of educating the students is at about $30 billion annually, up from about $1 billion 20 years ago. This 22 percent of total education spending is then educating less than 13 percent of the children, with about three times as much spent on each full-time special-education student as on each regular-education child.

On the other hand, some parents and teachers see this as beneficial, because it allows the special child to interact with other “normal” children and therefore learn at the same pace; however, this mentality about special needs students implies that disabilities are due to a lack of motivation rather than caused by biological imbalances or mental disturbances.

Mainstreaming is being justified by the notion that segregation is damaging, since it promotes isolation and stereotypes, and that diversity is an undeniable social good. However, if this is the rhetoric we are forced to adhere to as teachers, we and the other special education teachers we work with can offer all the support and help we have access to, but some students who are developmentally delayed will not be proficient, no matter how much support is laid at their feet.

Why does everyone get it but me?

Mainstreaming does not always produce efficient results. Parents who have seen their special student flourish in a special environment, one that is small, equipped, and lead by a certified instructor, are now seeing their students in a classroom where they feel they are competing rather than learning. For example, some mainstreamed students will speak with me personally about how they “just aren’t getting it” but cannot ask questions during class for fear of being branded an “outcast” by peers who are moving at their normal pace. Other special needs students, especially ones with violent tendencies, also put other students as obvious risk, even with two support teachers in the classroom.

While mainstreaming may seem appropriate as per the parents, mainly because this means the state and federal governments are giving their child a free education, this act is taking away from “normal” students, even gifted ones. In my old high school, for example, we had an ADHD student in our classroom mainstreamed over from the special education department. This student exhibited all the signs of ADHD, including constant fidgeting, inability to concentrate on the main lecture of the class for too long, and made constant interruptions throughout the class, making it nearly impossible for the educator to teach other distracted regular education students. We, as teachers, cannot slow down a classroom’s pace if 89% of the students are comprehending the material while another 11% is struggling and distracting others.

Tricks of the Trade

Some students who are mainstreamed can learn in a regular education environment and then seek external assistance through learning support teachers; other students, however, with more immediate needs, cannot or will not be their own self-advocates and therefore, help will be given too little too late.

In media, the kid in the wheelchair has become a kind of mascot, beloved by all in his gang, but this is only a fragile and idealized image. In a real-life classroom where all of the children are non-disabled except the one who drools uncontrollably, who hears voices, blurts inappropriate statements out, or who can’t read a simple sentence when everyone else can, further isolates himself, becomes secluded, will not ask for aid, and eventually close up to any other assistance offered since he/she is already branded “stupid.”

If these students feel the world is against them, and that if they open their mouth they will be ridiculed, it is easier for them to escape by pretending to be invisible and only look as if they understand. Regular and special education teachers can only do so much for a disabled student who will not open up, or who are smart enough to fake comprehension.

Options and Conflicts

By placing said type of student into a regular education classroom, an environment that may seem threatening at times, the student may feel the content of the class is too overwhelming. If there is no other place for the student to go except an alternate setting, which might not be the most suitable environment, but also since the education facility lacks any other transitional curriculum, which used to be the special education department, the student is faced with two less-than-perfect options: a regular education class that “goes too fast” or an alternate setting that “goes too slow.”

Another concern that was recently been brought to the attention of administrations across the States is the issue of diplomas. Is a special education student, one who receives extra testing time, testing modification, and learning support entitled to the same diploma as a student who went through the process without such aides? For example, students who needs tests read to them because they lack the reading level required for that class will graduate high school with the same honor as regular education students, only to have that support pulled from them as they lead a life post-graduation. This is an injustice to both types of learners since one is being “pushed through” while the other earns the right to proceed to the next grade or graduate.

Conclusion and Analogy

To remove the special education department from public schools does not give all students the ability to reach their potential. Placing idealized goals on teachers and students will not only hinder student development, it will also foster more frustration and anxiety for teachers. All students can learn, but every student learns differently. Placing students with a similar peer group in a classroom that fits the students’ differing learning styles will promote more comprehension and learning, which leads to a sense of accomplishment, rather than lumping all together into one big pot and hoping the teacher can handle it all.

As an analogy: no one would ever expect a dentist to cure all patients of cavities, regardless of what they ate, and yet all teachers are expected to have their students testing proficient or higher by 2014, regardless of external factors, including disabilities and parental influence. There are other factors that help or hinder a student’s education, just as there are other factors that cause cavities, and just as dentists cannot cure everything, a regular teacher cannot teach all special education students, especially since said teacher does not have control over external factors. There needs to be a learning environment for all students that will take their needs into consideration and offering the latest equipment to do so. Not all special education students will flourish in a regular education classroom, so we need to place them in environments that meet their needs just as we do with all students.

If you are a special education teacher you are probably having trouble creating a lesson plan for your students. A special education lesson plan is an educational technique or teaching method that is made specifically for students of any age group that have some disabilities.

Now, the lesson plans do vary depending on the student’s disability, its extremeness and the student’s age. The main goal of the lesson plans are to prepare the students to function on their own, to master certain minimum skills to help them, and to help them build and support social competencies. All of these things are important but the number one importance of a special education lesson plan is to help the student and their family to lead normal and problem free lives.

Some of the topics a special education lesson plan covers are math, language, arts, science, music, computer and internet lessons, P.E., social studies, health, etc. The plans cover pretty much every subject that those in a regular class are learning but the material is changed to suit the students.

The best subject for those with a disability is music, dance, and any other art form. These subjects help students with disabilities to relate to the lessons which directly enhance their learning process. Also, reading, writing and any public speaking should be encouraged by the special education teacher as it will help the students in the long run.

As long as you have a well thought out lesson plan you will be able to enhance the student’s feelings and responses, the student’s reasoning ability and reading skills, create a sense of fulfillment in the student, promote the student to communicate, help the student to achieve motor control and physical wellness, etc. Hence, it is most important for any special education teacher to thoroughly plan out a well thought lesson plan as this will enable and enhance the learning process of these special students.

If you have no idea on how to create a good lesson plan, you can get some references and information on the internet, in books, and in articles. Do not just take the lesson plan and use it but modify it to suit the individual student.

Being a special education teacher is one of the hardest things you could do but is also one of the most fulfilling. With a good special education lesson plan you are able to accomplish so much in making the student’s life the best it can be.