Identifying Special Populations Students

1. Identifying Special Populations Students Shannon Baker, Consultant Special Populations, Civil Rights, Equity NCDPI

2. Objectives • Overview of job description; • Identify special population students; • Establish relationships with CTE & school staff; • Licensure requirements.

3. Identify SP StudentsObjectives • Identify members of special populations; • Identify federal laws associated with protecting members of special populations; • Work collaboratively to develop ways to assist special populations students.

4. Fact or Myth? • Special population students consists only exceptional children with IEPs. • Special populations students are only those students with failing grades. • If my school does not have a designated Special Populations Coordinator, the school does not have to provide services to those students who may fall under the SP category.

5. Myths!!! • Special population students does not only consist of exceptional children with IEPs. • Special populations student’s grades can range from all Fs to all As. • If my school does not have a designated Special Populations Coordinator, the school does have to provide services to those students who may fall under the SP category.

6. Who are members of Special Populations? • Individuals with disabilities; • Individuals from economically disadvantaged families, including foster children; • Individuals preparing for nontraditional training & employment • Single parents, including single pregnant women; • Displaced homemakers; and • Individuals with other barriers to educational achievement, including individuals w/ limited English proficiency.

7. Individual w/ Disabilities • Autistic • Behaviorally-Emotional Disabled • Deaf/Blind • Hearing Impaired • Multi-handicapped • Orthopedically impaired • Pregnant students • Developmentally delayed • Specific Learning Disabled • Speech-Language Impaired • Traumatic Brain Injury • Visually impaired

8. The Law… • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • (http://nichcy.org/disability/categories) • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • Title II of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990

9. Economically Disadvantaged • Students who qualify for: • Aid to families; • Food stamps; • Free or reduced-priced meals; and/ or • Determined to be low-income according to the latest available data from the Department of Commerce or the Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines. • Foster children

10. The Law… • Free Access to Public Education (FAPE) • Other laws as it relates to FAPE • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • Title II of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990

11. Non-traditional Training & Employment • What is non-traditional employment? • Occupations or fields of work for which individuals from one gender comprise less than 25% of those employed in the occupational or field of work. • Where can I find a list of those fields? • National Alliance for Partnership in Equity (NAPE) • www.napequity.org

12. Sample from Perkins IV Table 3Nontraditional CIP to Career Cluster

13. The Law… • Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

14. Single Parents • Includes single pregnant women • Unmarried individuals (female AND male) with children and those expecting a child

15. The Law… • Title IX • Title II • Section 504

16. Displaced Homemakers • Individuals experiencing a change in lifestyle due to unpredictable circumstances.

17. Other Barriers to Education Academically Disadvantaged Potential Dropouts • Score below level III on standardized achievement tests; • Below 25th percentile on an aptitude test • Secondary grades below 2.0 on 4.0 scale (unweighted) or below 2.5 (weighted) • Fails to attain minimum academic competencies • Consistent low achievement; • High rate of absenteeism; • Unmotivated; • Constant discipline problems; • Delinquent behavior in school & in community

18. Limited English Proficiency • Were not born in the US or whose native language is a language other than English; • Comes from an environment where a language other than English is dominant; • Are American Indian or Alaska Natives and who come from environments where a language other than English has had a significant impact on their level of English language proficiency; • Who by reason, thereof, have sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing or understanding the English language…

19. The Law… • Vocational Education Programs for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex and Handicap. • http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/vocre.html

20. Blanket Laws • Carl Perkins Vocational and Applied Technologies Education Act of 1990 • Vocational Educational Programs Guidelines for Eliminating Discrimination and Denial of Services on the Basis of Race, Color, National Origin, Sex and Handicap

21. Creating Your Special Populations Blueprint • List the categories of special populations students. • Record ideas on how you can ensure that your special populations students are being served. • Share ideas with your neighbors.

22. Resources • NCDPI Challenge Handbook (2005) • National Alliance for Partnership in Equity (www.napequity.org) • US Department of Education (www.ed.gov) • Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com) • National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (www.nichcy.org)