Access to the General Curriculum: What It Really Means W. David Mills, Section Chief Exceptional Chi

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Access to the General Curriculum What It Really
Means W. David Mills, Section
ChiefExceptional Children DivisionNC Department
of Public InstructionJune 2004
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• Outcomes
• Familiarity with the requirements
• Clearer picture of expectations
• Suggestions for good practice

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Premise All Children Can Learn In most all
statements of belief, the wording is either all
children can learn or something similar. In NC,
for example, the foundational belief statement in
the Problem-Solving Model Project for exceptional
children is that all children can learn. It
should go without saying that as educators we
believe that all children can learn. We have,
perhaps, all made the often quoted statement If
children dont learn the way we teach, then we
must teach the way children learn.
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The questions to ask if all children can
learn .. Learn what? .. Learn when? .. Learn
how? These are not special education questions,
but questions for all of education. Most
educators believe that all children can learn,
but not learn the same way, the same thing, or at
the same time. It may sound too simple to ask
these questions of how, when and what however,
if we dont, the issue is settled only one
course of study, one timeline, and one
instructional methodology. The issue of course
of study, would, perhaps, be debated as to which
course of study would be adopted. The SBE and
the educational community at large recognize
differences in learners. Thus, NC has four
courses of study.
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It is interesting that the question of where
students with disabilities will learn has been
settled. The where is the Least Restrictive
Environment. Some argument does occur,
however, as to what constitutes the Least
Restrictive Environment.
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• LEGISLATION
• PL94-142 (Education of All Handicapped Children
  Act of 1975)
• Brought all children to the school
• Supported our belief that all children can learn

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• PL 101-476 Individuals with Disabilities
  Education Act of 1990 (IDEA)
• Most PL 94-142 provisions kept in the
  reauthorization
• Autism added as a disability in its own right
• TBI added
• Rehab Counseling stated as a related service
• Recreational Therapy stated as a related service
• Social Work stated as a related service
• AT Services added
• Transition defined and connected to IEP
• Underrepresented defined (minority, poor, LEP)
• Did not add ADD/ADHD

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• PL 105-17 Individuals with Disabilities
  Education Act of 1997 (IDEA)
• Introduced the concept of aligning special
  education reform with general education reform
• Required students with disabilities (SWD) to
• have access to the general curriculum
• be involved in the general curriculum
• progress in the general curriculum

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• No Child Left Behind Act of 2002
• Requires accountability through assessment and
  students to make adequate yearly progress
• Emphasis is to ensure all students achieve at
  high levels

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• Access to the General Curriculum, Progress in the
  General Curriculum, or General Curriculum is used
  in IDEA 97
• 11 times (my count) in the Code of Federal
  Regulations (CFR 300.26 300.755) for IDEA
• 38 times (my count) in Appendix A

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CFR 300.26 Special Education (b) Individual
terms defined (3) Specially-designed
instruction means adapting, as appropriate to
the needs of an eligible child the content,
methodology, or delivery of instruction
(ii) To ensure access of the child to the
general curriculum, so that he or she can meet
the educational standards within the jurisdiction
of the public agency that apply to all children.
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Appendix A to Part 300 of IDEA Involvement and
Progress of Each Child With a Disability in the
General Curriculum research, demonstration, and
practice over the past 20 years in special
education and related services have demonstrated
that an effective education system now and in the
future must maintain high academic standards and
clear performance goals for children with
disabilities, consistent with the standards and
expectation for all students in the education
system, and provide for appropriate and effective
strategies and methods to ensure that students
who are children with disabilities have maximum
opportunities to achieve those standards and
goals. Section 651 (a)(6) of the Act
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Appendix A to Part 300 of IDEA continued Accordi
ngly, the evaluation and IEPplace great emphasis
on the involvement and progress of children with
disabilities in the general curriculum. (The
term general curriculum as used in these
regulations,refers to the curriculum that is
used with nondisabled children.)
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Appendix A to Part 300 of IDEA continued Must
the childs IEP address his or her involvement in
the general curriculum, regardless of the nature
and severity of the childs disability and the
setting in which the child is educated? Yes.
The IEP for each child with a disability
(including children who are educated in separate
classrooms and schools) must address how the
child will be involved and progress in the
general curriculum.
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Appendix A to Part 300 of IDEA continued Section
300.347 (a)(1)(2) requires that each childs IEP
include a statement of measurable annual goals,
including benchmarks or short term objectives
related to (1) meeting the childs needs that
result from the childs disabilities to enable
the child to be involved in and progress in the
general curriculum.
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Appendix A to Part 300 of IDEA continued Thus
the IEP teammust make an individualized
determination (underlining mine) regarding (1)
how the child will be involved and progress in
the general curriculum and what needs that result
from the childs disability must be met and
facilitate that participation. a public
agency is not required to include in an IEP
annual goals that relate to areas of the general
curriculum in which the childs disability does
not affect the childs ability to be involved in
and progress in the general curriculum. If a
child with a disability needs only modifications
or accommodations in order to progress in the
general curriculum, the IEP does not need to
include a goal for the area however, the IEP
would need to specify those modifications and
accommodations.
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Appendix A to Part 300 of IDEA continued What
are the major Part B IEP requirements that govern
the involvement and programs for children with
disabilities in the general curriculum? Section
300.347 (a)(1) requires that the IEP for each
child with a disability include a statement of
the childs present levels of education
performance, including (i) how the childs
disability affects the childs involvement and
progress in the general curriculum or (ii) for
preschool children, as appropriate, how the
childs disability affects the childs
participation in appropriate activities.
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• What is the general curriculum?
• The curriculum that is used with nondisabled
  children
• The NC Standard Course of Study, including the
  essences
• The curriculum is that series of planned,
  systematic learning experiences organized around
  a particular philosophy of education. (Paula
  Goff, Assessing the General Education
  Curriculum. Missouri Innovations in Education,
  28(3), 2001.
• Access to the general curriculum basically
  means that education planning for students with
  disabilities has as its foundation the curriculum
  being taught within the district and that
  curriculum be presented at a level and in a
  manner in which students with disabilities can
  acquire the content. (Tom Hehir, Begin Early,
  End Well. The School Administrator, 56(24-26),
  1999.

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English/Language Arts SCS Competency Goals and
Essences . SCS Goal 1 The learner will develop
and apply enabling strategies and skills to read
and write . Essence 1 The learner will develop
strategies for communication. . SCS Goal 2 The
learner will develop and apply strategies and
skills to comprehend text that is read, heard,
and viewed. . Essence 2 The learner will
develop and apply strategies and skills to
comprehend outside stimuli. . SCS Goal 3 The
learner will make connections through the use of
oral language, written language, and media and
technology. . Essence 3 The learner will make
connections (reach, relate, and generalize).
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. SCS Goal 4 The learner will apply strategies
and skills to create oral, written, and visual
text. . Essence 4 The learner will produce
expressive communication. . SCS Goal 5 The
learner will apply grammar and language
conventions to communicate effectively. . Essence
5 The learner will convey a complete thought in
a functional manner.
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Mathematics SCS Mathematics Strands and
Essences . SCS Math Strand 1 Number sense,
numeration, and numerical operations . Essence 1
Representing and utilizing numbers . SCS Math
Strand 2 Spatial sense, measurement, and
geometry . Essence 2 Recognizing size,
measurement, spatial orientation, and shape . SCS
Math 3 Patterns, relationships, and functions .
Essence 3 Sorting and patterning . SCS Math 4
Data, probability, and statistics . Essence 4
Collecting, sorting, organizing, displaying,
and/or interpreting data over a period of time
(usually two or more items of numerical
information) in charts, graphs, and/or tables
with correct labeling.
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• Why the essences were adopted
• To comply with IDEA 97. Most states have now
  developed what is being called essences to the
  standards or extensions to the standards.
• IDEA 97 speaks of curriculum, not curricula.
  States are not expected to have separate
  curricula, even one that is called functional or
  adapted.
• There is to be one NC Standard Course of Study.
  That is why the SBE adopted the extensions. The
  extensions allow the SCS to embrace students with
  low cognitive function. The intent is to have
  the SCS cover the curricular needs of all
  students.

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• Standards
• The word standards is being used in many
  states and has been used in a number of
  publications to refer to the general curriculum.
  Standards driven IEPs is common vernacular in
  some states.
• Michael Hock in his July-August 2000 In CASE
  article entitled Ten Reasons Why We Should Use
  Standards in IEPs, states, The 1997 Amendments
  to the IDEA dont specifically require that IEPs
  be referenced to standards.
• There are limited references to standards in
  IDEA. General curriculum is used most.

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USDEs 21st Annual Report to Congress,
1999 Students can benefit from an emerging body
of research that emphasizes the importance of
universal design of curricula and instructional
materials and of strategies that support access
to the general education curriculum. Special
educators must possess content knowledge
necessary for delivering instruction students
need access to instruction that is individually
referenced, intense, frequent and explicit.
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21st Report to Congress, 1999, continued Special
educators must have sound content knowledge and
pedagogical skills. Enhancing access to the
curriculum requires ongoing collaboration between
general and special educators. Most educators
perceive the general educator as having the
subject content knowledge needed to teach the
curriculum objectives, while the special educator
utilizes the modifications and various
instructional strategies needed to assist the
learning of students with disabilities. It is
the combination of their expertise that enhances
learning for all students. This blend can be
achieved in a variety of ways co-teaching,
joint planning, modeling, coaching, etc.
Additionally, joint participation and leadership
in curriculum development, professional
development, and instruction are critical to
helping students with disabilities access the
curriculum.
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• Implications and Expectations for the IEP Where
  in the IEP is the General Education Curriculum to
  be Address?
• First, in the present level of performance,
  which is to include a statement of how the
  disability affects the students involvement in
  the general curriculum and a statement of the
  present level of performance.
• Second, the general curriculum is addressed in
  the statement of measurable goals and objectives
  or benchmarks. Goals are identified from the
  weaknesses noted in the present level of
  performance that affect the students ability to
  progress in the general curriculum. Simply, if a
  student is not making progress because of a math
  concern, a measurable goal is written to address
  math. If a child is not progressing because of
  behavior-emotional concerns, a goal is developed
  to address the concerns.

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Third, the service section of the IEP addresses
the general curriculum by including related
services, supplementary aids and services,
modifications, accommodations, including whether
the student needs assistive technology, and
supports for school personnel. These are to be
more than just boxes on the IEP form to check.
Deliberation must be given to the need for these
services for the student to access the general
curriculum. NOTE About developing annual
goalsgoals should reflect the necessary
learning that will lead to a curriculum standard
rather than a re-statement of the curriculum
standard. (Nancy Johnson. Presentation entitled
IEPs Connecting to the NC Standard Course of
Study, 53rd Conference on Exceptional Children,
October 28, 2003)
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IDEA 1997 Lets Make It Work, CEC, 1999. The
new emphasis on participation in the regular
education curriculum is not intended to result in
major expansions in the size of the IEP and
dozens of pages of details with goals and
benchmarks and/or objectives in every curriculum
content standard and skills. The new focus is
intended to focus attention to the accommodations
and adjustments necessary for children with
disabilities to access the general education
curriculum and the special services which may be
necessary for appropriate participation in the
particular areas of the curriculum due to the
nature of the disability.
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Michael Hock asks, Doesnt it make sense to
design IEPs that help students meet standards
so they can do their best on standards-based
assessments, pass from grade to grade and
eventually graduate, and in the process help
prove that their schools and teachers were indeed
accountable? (Michael Hock. Ten Reasons Why We
Should Use Standards in IEPs. In CASE,
July-August 2000.
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Achieving Access to the General Curriculum for
Students with Mental Retardation A Curriculum
Decision-Making Model by Michael L. Wehmeyer,
Dana Lattin, Martin Agran in Education and
Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities, 2001, 36(4), 327-342 The intent of
providing access is identified in the IDEA
regulations the access provisions require a
description of how a childs involvement in the
general curriculum is a statutory requirement and
cannot be deleted. The requirement is important
because it provides the basis for determining
what accommodations the child needs in order to
participate in the general curriculum to the
maximum extent appropriate (italics mine).
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Wehmeyer, Lattin and Agran continued The
modifying clause to associate with access,
therefore, is to the maximum extent appropriate
to the needs of the child. What is determined
as appropriate is, basically, an IEP team
decision, and the challenge ahead is to reform
the IEP process to ensure that decisions about a
given students education are driven by the high
expectations embodied in the general curriculum
as well as the unique needs of the
student.emphasis should be placed as much on the
word maximum as appropriate. The clear
mandate is to maximize the students involvement
in the general curriculum.
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Wehmeyer, Lattin and Agran speak of the added
responsibility IDEA 97 places on the IEP team
for making a variety of decisions. In speaking
of IEP teams as decision-making entities, they
state that many IEP meetings are not
decision-making meetings. The IEP team, as an
entity, typically comes together only annually
and, partly due to the infrequency of the
meeting, often focuses on crises resolution
instead of being a deliberative process. On the
other extreme, meetings are too often perfunctory
with any real decision about the curriculum or
any other topic made in advance of the meeting.
One way or the other, the IEP process appears to
fall well short of the deliberative,
decision-making body that is required for the
design of a students curriculum.
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• Accessing the General Curriculum Including
  Students with Disabilities in Standards-Based
  Reform
• by Victor Nolet and Margaret J. McLaughlin
• Corwin Press, Inc. 2000
• Thoughts on Creating Conditions for Access
• Access is not just about placement in general
  education classrooms, nor can access be achieved
  through special education alone.
• Access means different things for different
  students. There is no single best definition of
  access, no single set of things to do to ensure
  access, or even one set of criteria for deciding
  how to provide access.

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• The critical elements for ensuring that all
  students have meaningful access to the general
  curriculum are the conditions within a school
  that support the necessary access.
• Expectation that all students will benefit from
  having access to the general curriculum is
  foundational.
• Belief in the benefits of the general curriculum
  for all students must be grounded on the
  knowledge of content standards and the
  expectations about what students must learn.
• The school environment must promote flexibility
  and adaptability. The critical resources, such
  as teachers and time, must be able to change in
  response to student needs.

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• Aproblem is confusing inclusion or
  participation in the general classroom with
  access to the curriculum.
• When access seems to work, it is because
  teachers share a knowledge of the general
  curriculum and have opportunities to discuss what
  are the most important aspects of the curriculum
  to teach.
• All teachers and other specialistsmust be able
  to describe what they expect a student to be able
  to do as a result of instruction in the
  curriculum.
• The lack of foundational skills among students
  posesa dilemma for teachers.

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(No Transcript)
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• In order to focus instruction, special and
  general education teachers must have a shared
  language and a strong knowledge of subject matter
  content. Special education teachers provide the
  differentiation through presenting subject matter
  in different ways, using different texts or
  materials, using technology, and setting
  expectations. They rely on their general
  education colleagues for the subject matter
  content and for guidelines on how to teach a
  subject so that students with different levels of
  knowledge can learn. The exact content of this
  key information may differ for each child with a
  disability, but the skills and knowledge should
  be expressed in the form of explicit performance
  of students. What will they be able to do after
  the instruction? The targetsshould be relevant
  and attainable, but nonetheless should reflect
  the key elements of the curriculum.
• (Think of NCs new requirement for licensure of
  special education teachers.)

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Note The days when general education teachers
could reduce the diversity of skills in their
classrooms by referring students out to special
education are gone. Today all teachers must be
skilled at making accommodations. This is no
longer something that only special education
teachers do. Standards-based school reforms and
IDEA 97 challenge educators to demonstrate that
all students can make meaningful progress in the
general curriculum.
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• Access Opportunities
• Access opportunities help get students into the
  classroom and access learning opportunities,
  which in turn helps them achieve or work toward
  standards
• Supports and services for behavior, language,
  communication, vision and hearing needs
• Classroom supports assistants and tutors
• Therapies
• Counseling
• Behavior supports
• Transportation
• Assistive technology

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• Learning Opportunities
• Classroom accommodations and modifications
• Assessment accommodations and modifications
• Alternate assessments
• Curriculum modifications and adaptations
• Learning strategies
• Instructional strategies
• Adapted and alternative materials

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• Steps to Help Ensure Access to the
• General Curriculum
• Have the general education teacher at the IEP
  table.
• Assure that all school employed IEP participants
  know the NC Standard Course of Study.
• Talk about the Standard Course of Study at the
  IEP table.
• As each weakness noted in the present level of
  performance is discussed, determine how it will
  impact the student in being able to access the
  general curriculum.

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Present Level of Performance (Perhaps) Trish
scored at grade level on her state and diagnostic
math tests. She scored three years below grade
level on her state and diagnostic reading and
writing tests. The diagnostic and
curriculum-based assessments show she is unable
to decode words necessary for reading, and her
written expression is slow and labored. Her
reading and handwriting interfere with her work
in subject areas other than math calculation.
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• Think high standards, expect the student to
  stretch, but be realistic about expectations.
• Take care when (1) wording form the Standard
  Course of Study or (2) wording from any
  predetermined statement in a goal bank is stated
  as an IEP goal. Make certain that the statement
  is worthy of being a goal, that is, it is
  specifically supported by the present level of
  performance, is measurable, and is what the
  student will learn with a year of instruction.
• NOT Trey will read and understand grade-level
  material.
• OK Trey will paraphrase the ideas of three
  literary works by a single author and construct a
  visual model to compare them to other sources and
  related topics.

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• Discuss the processes related to school learning
  with respect to the entire curriculum, asking,
  How does this ______________ problem manifest
  itself in biology, health, social studies, and
  the like?
• Among the process areas to be considered for
  goals
• writing
• reading
• math
• motor
• behavior
• social skills
• skills related to learning (study, organization,
  etc.)
• speech-language
• transition
• self-help

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• Remember that students with disabilities have
  their disabilities 24 hours each day and in
  English, math, social studies, science, etc.

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• We need to remember
• Exceptional child education is not the answer to
  poor general education.
• It is not special education that most students
  need, it is education that is special.
• Each student with a disability deserves a high
  quality and individually designed education.

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Resources . Goff, P. (2001). Accessing the
general education curriculum. Missouri
Innovations in Education, 28 (3)1-2. . Hock, M.
(2000). Ten reasons why we should use standards
in IEPs. In CASE, July-August, 5-7. . Johnson, N.
(2003). IEPs connecting to the North Carolina
standard course of study. 53rd Exceptional
Children Conference, NCDPI. . Karger. J.
Hitchcock, C. (2004). Access to the general
curriculum for students with disabilities.
National Center for Accessing the General
Curriculum. . Lindsey, C Wunder, M. (2001).
Linking IEPs to the general education curriculum.
Missouri Innovations in Education, 28 (3) 3-5. .
McLaughlin, M.J. (1999). Access to the general
education curriculum. Journal of Special
Education Leadership. 12(1) 9-14.
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Resources continued . Nolet, V. McLaughlin,
M.J. Accessing the General Curriculum Including
Students with Disabilities in Standards-Based
Reform. Thousand Oaks, CA Corwin Press, Inc.
2000. , Wehmeyer, M.L, Lattin, D. and Agran, M.
(2001). Achieving access to the general
curriculum for students with mental retardation
a curriculum decision-making model. Education and
Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities, 36(4) 327-342. . California
Department of Education. Handbook of Goals and
Objectives Related to Essential State of
California Content Standards. January 2003. .
Council for Exceptional Children. (1999). IDEA
1997 Lets Make It Work. Reston, VA. . Council
for Exceptional Children. (1999). IDEA Team
Guide. Reston, VA.
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Resources continued . How to help ensure special
ed students involvement and progress in the
general curriculum. IEP Team Trainer. May 2000. .
Accessing the General Curriculum. 2000-01 NASDSE
Satellite Conference Services. March 21, 2001.
. Ohio Department of Education. Standards-Based
Education in Ohio Providing Access to the
General Curriculum for Students with
Disabilities. 2003 (developed by GLARRC). .
Universal Design Ensuring Access to the General
Education Curriculum. Research Connections in
Special Education. Fall 1999. . General
Curriculum Key to New IEPs. The Special
Educator. LRP Publications. 1998. . Access the
General Curriculum with a Standards-Reference
IEP. The Special Educator. LRP Publications.
1999.
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Resources continued . Conference Proceedings
Meetings of State and Local Representatives,
September 29030 October 20-21, 2003. Expanding
access to the general education curriculum
meeting. CCSSO/The Access Center Improving
Outcomes for All Students K-8.