Virtual Library > Special Education

PARENTS

Short article by Spirit Lake Consulting on involvement of parents.

Fact Sheet from the National Dissemination Center for parents on communication through letterwriting, includes sample letters.

Who gets Special Education - is a PowerPoint presentation that gives a quick overview of who qualifies for special education and a short description of each category of disability.

Questions parents often ask about special education - click here for frequently asked questions and their answers.
Developing your child's Individual Education Plan - good advice from the National Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities

Teasing and bullying in school - you should not just have to accept this as 'kids will be kids'. Used with permission from PACER Center Inc., Minneapolis, MN, (952) 838-9000. www.pacer.org. All rights reserved.

SCHOOLS

This 55-page guide on inclusive schools is full of ideas for celebrating diversity in classrooms. These assignments are not just 'feel-good' activities but also encourage creative thought, artistic expression, practice writing skills and teach information about disability. Personally, we found pages 12-15 the most useful with specific activities you can do in your classroom. We couldn't really see ourselves bringing bumper stickers about diversity to the school board meetings - but, hey, maybe that's your kind of thing. There are other good ideas throughout this guide, such as having students design a three-dimensional model of a school that would be accessible to all people with disabilities.

Related services - children in special education are entitled to "related services" as stated on their IEP (Individual Education Plan). What are related services? There are many different types.