
Discover beginner-friendly insights into exceptional student education, self-contained elementary classrooms, and paraprofessional collaboration. Prepare for state licensure with Florida FTC and Praxis content.
Trace the history of special education from exclusion to federal guarantees, including the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act and IDEA 1990 with IEPs and 504 plans.
Explore the core federal laws shaping special education, including IDEA, FAPE, LRE, IEP, and 504 plans, plus key impacts of No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds Act.
Explore the IEP framework with emphasis on procedural safeguards, collaboration, and documentation of accommodations. Learn how goals, related services, transition planning, and least restrictive environment support student outcomes.
Learn how 504 plans provide accommodations to help students with disabilities access the same curriculum, without modifying coursework, and how they differ from IEPs.
Explore procedural safeguards that protect parent and guardian rights in special education, including due process, prior written notice, translation services, consent for evaluation and placement, and IEP collaboration.
Investigate the overrepresentation of minority and English language learners in special education. Learn to address bias, rely on assessment data, and focus on students' academic and social needs.
Foster collaboration among families, general education teachers, paraprofessionals, and specialists through open communication, active listening, and feedback to support students with disabilities in IEP planning and inclusive classrooms.
Plan long-term transitions from high school for students with disabilities. Collaborate with students, parents, teachers, and service staff to tailor IEP-based goals for postsecondary education, employment, or community involvement.
Explore the 13 major disability categories for IEP eligibility, including multiple disabilities, from visual and hearing impairments to autism and intellectual disabilities, with evaluation and impact on learning.
In this class, you will learn about the major areas of special education, including a brief history of special education, special education law, IEPs, 504 plans, parent/stakeholder rights, overrepresentation of minorities in special education, collaborating with school professionals and families, long-term planning and transitioning for older students, categories and characteristics of disabilities present in special education, special education methods (self-contained, behavior units, push-in, pull-out/resource rooms, and special schools), types of learners, learning theories, effects of disabilities on learning and behavior, human development, communication issues in special education, evaluating progress against curriculum, eligibility for special education services, RtI/MTSS (response to intervention) services and outcomes, assistive technology in the classroom, differentiation and grouping in the special ed classroom, evaluation and assessment in special education, proactive behavior management, classroom management basics, and a very basic overview of approaches to take when teaching math or ELA in the special ed classroom. Lastly, I will touch briefly on how all of this relates to Florida in terms of standards and special laws, since this is the state I currently teach in. If you are not a Florida teacher or Florida resident, I will show you how to use this information to access your own state standards, laws and requirements within special education. As a bonus, this course covers all the competencies needed to pass the FTCE Exceptional Student Education K-12 exam.