Harvey A. Rude

Assessment and Students with Disabilities: Issues and Challenges with Educational Reform:

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act seeks to correct achievement gaps that are most prevalent among students in specific subgroups including those with disabilities, linguistic and cultural diversity, and representing economic disadvantage. The reauthorization of federal special education legislation through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) has moved to align the accountability for learners with disabilities with the guiding principles of NCLB. This paper examines the challenges of adequately assessing these learners in a manner that preserves the individualized nature of educational supports and services while focusing on the desired learning and results that are expected by education policy through accountability mandates. In this lens of increased scrutiny for results accountability, the issues of eligibility for services, summary of performance, and transition services are analyzed and aligned with these policy expectations with particular consideration given to rural impact. The emerging focus on early intervening services and assessing learners identified as at risk for school failure promotes practices that are aligned with academic and behavioral success for all learners. A summary of recommendations is provided on assessment related factors for rural school teachers and administrators.

Perceived Needs of Students with Low-Incidence Disabilities in Rural Areas

We examined the current perspectives of service providers, administrators, and parents who are linked to the provision of special education and related services to learners with low-incidence disabilities in the United States. The purposes of the investigation were to gain information from the various respondents concerning the adequacy and availability of appropriate educational services for students with low-incidence disabilities and provide information regarding the need for additional services and supports. A detailed survey instrument that included a variety of open-ended response items was developed and mailed to the membership of two professional organizations with strong connections to rural special education. Responses indicated that the biggest areas of need were for highly qualified personnel with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the needs of learners with low-incidence disabilities and for timely information that would support the education of these learners. Implications for how these concerns can be addressed are provided within the framework of four major functions including: information provision, teacher preparation, local school support, and research.

Administrative Perspectives on the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) for Students with Disabilities in Rural Settings

The impact of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) has provided a significant challenge and opportunity for administrators of special education services at the state and local levels. Leaders representing prominent professional organizations at both the state (National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc.) and local (Council of Administrators of Special Education, Inc.) education levels have identified advantages and barriers to successful implementation of the legal mandates. The most significant challenges for special education leaders and managers include: the requirements for adequate yearly progress for all learners, the provision of highly qualified special education service providers, and an adequate amount of attention devoted to all subgroups of learners. The unique difficulties for rural schools providing an appropriate education to all learners, including those with disabilities, are compounded by the effects of supplemental services, choice options, and the identification of adequate resources. The implications for the preparation of effective special education leaders and managers are identified within these parameters.

Avoiding Special Education Litigation in Rural School Districts

The major purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its legislative predecessors has shifted in the past 25 years from simply providing access to educational services to an emphasis on providing meaningful, measurable, and accountable programs to students with disabilities (Katsiyannis, Yell, & Bradley, 2001). These changes have resulted in more students seeking services and legal protection under IDEA. These changes have also made school districts and particularly rural districts more vulnerable to parent initiated due process proceedings. A qualitative case study was conducted using data from several rural school districts in Kansas. Data were triangulated and summarized into five key principles. These five principles are offered to guide rural school districts in avoiding special educational due process proceedings.

Ethical Leadership: Supporting Human Rights and Diversity in Rural Communities

The influence of ethical leadership is examined from the perspective of advancing the conditions of human rights and diversity within schools in rural America. The study of ethics is concerned with values and morals that society deems appropriate and/or desirable. The determination of what is “right/wrong” or “good/bad” in the context of rural education settings provides a challenge for all educators who seek to make a difference in the lives of all learners in public education and their families. The authors provide an analysis of the challenges and a set of strategies that guide the development of ethical leadership on behalf of all learners, including those who are significantly disenfranchised from the mainstream of educational systems. The context of rural special education provides significant challenges and promising opportunities to change the conditions of educational practices based on the tenets of transformational leadership.

Assessment of Professional Development Systems: Improving Rural Special Education Services

The ability to measure the results of professional development programs and activities remains an elusive goal for most educators in rural settings. While students in classrooms continue to face extensive assessment requirements related to the attainment of educational content outcomes, there has been little effort to assess the impact of professional development designed to enhance the effectiveness of educational professionals who carry the major responsibility for the facilitation of learning outcomes for all learners. These issues sometimes become more difficult to address in rural schools if there are limited resources and support services. To realize the benefits of effective professional development, assessment approaches that link the effectiveness of such efforts to increasing student achievement are described. In this article, the prevailing approaches to professional development in rural schools are identified with evidence about best practices also provided.

Beyond Textbooks: A Rationale for a More Inclusive Use of Literature in Preservice Special Education Teacher Programs.

The role of any teacher education program in the field of special education has been to prepare its graduates to become successful classroom teachers. Teacher education programs have constantly searched for the best available practices to educate future teachers. Historically, textbooks have been the predominant form of information dissemination within the university culture. The use of textbooks, bound by structure and limited by content, has narrowed the knowledge base that teacher education graduates bring to their role as practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to promote the increased use of literature in preservice special education teacher preparation programs to better prepare educators to serve individual learners with special education needs.

Ethical Considerations for Special Educators in Rural America

The concern for ensuring an appropriate education for students with disabilities in rural schools and communities is predicated on balancing concerns for equity and excellence in the provision of special education and related services. The ethical behavior of educators is a driving force that ensures this balance. The study of ethics is concerned with the values that society deems appropriate and/or desirable. This paper examines expectations for ethical conduct through investigation of theoretical constructs, codes of ethics, and standards for professional practice. The unique ethical challenges faced by educators in rural schools and communities are explored from multiple perspectives. These challenges include the commitment to examine ethical issues in the following key components: (a) educational processes, (b) professional practices, (c) research, (d) professional development, (e) policy, and (f) leadership. A set of summary conclusions is offered along with considerations for future inquiry in this area. Ethical Considerations for Special Educators in Rural America

Preparing Special Education Higher Education Faculty: The Influences of Contemporary Education Issues and Policy Recommendations.

There is a well-documented need for leadership personnel who are prepared at the doctoral level to fill special education faculty positions at institutions of higher education (IHEs) and train the next generation of teachers. The intersection of continued retirements of special education faculty, shortage of well-prepared special education faculty to fill those positions, and changing preK-12 student demographics provides unique challenges to special education doctoral leadership preparation programs. Although a variety of variables influence special educator preparation in 21st-century schools, five contemporary issues (i.e., changing roles, evolving diversity, need for funding support, situating doctoral trainees in teacher training, and training delivery models) rise to a level highly relevant to special educator preparation at the doctoral level. In this article, the authors explore this complex landscape and offer policy recommendations to strengthen and update special education higher education leadership preparation.

Identification of Promising Future Special Education Teachers through a Needs-Based Perspective.

We examined the current movement toward excellence in special education from the standpoint that diagnostic assessment of prospective candidates for teacher education programs will develop a more rigorous and highly selective pool of future teachers. The recently adopted needs-based teacher training model in the State of Colorado was described, along with the implications for selecting preservice teachers, including special education teachers, at the undergraduate level. The project identified the difference between education and non-education majors on college entrance examinations, the relationship between extant admission criteria and student teaching performance, and the relationship between prospective admission criteria and student teaching performance. Implications and recommendations for revisions in procedures for admission, retention, and graduation from initial teacher education programs are presented for consideration.