Download ServingStudentswithDisabilitiesinState-levelVirtualK-12PublicSchoolPrograms.pdf

Contents : inForum In Depth Policy Analysis Serving Students with Disabilities in State-level Virtual K-12 Public School Programs by inForum An analysis of a critical issue in special education Eve M ller Ph.D. September 2009 Project Forum National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) 1800 Diagonal Road - Suite 320 Alexandria VA 22314 Project Forum at National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) is a cooperative agreement funded by the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education. The project carries out a variety of activities that provide information needed for program improvement and promote the utilization of research data and other information for improving outcomes for students with disabilities. The project also provides technical assistance and information on emerging issues and convenes small work groups to gather expert input obtain feedback and develop conceptual frameworks related to critical topics in special education. This report was supported by the U.S. Department of Education (Cooperative Agreement No. H326F050001). However the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Education and no official endorsement by the Department should be inferred. Note: There are no copyright restrictions on this document however please credit the source and support of federal funds when copying all or part of this material. This document along with many other Forum publications can be downloaded from the Project Forum at NASDSE web address: http://www.projectforum.org To order a hard copy of this document or any other Forum publications please contact Nancy Tucker at NASDSE 1800 Diagonal Road Suite 320 Alexandria VA 22314 Ph: 703-519-3800 ext. 326 or Email: nancy.tucker@nasdse.org This document is available in alternative formats. For details please contact Project Forum staff at 703.519.3800 Year 5 Deliverable 5-3B Table of Contents INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND ...................................................................................... 1 What is Virtual Education .................................................................. 1 Prevalence of Virtual K-12 Education .................................................... 1 What is a State-level Virtual Public School Program .............................. 2 Virtual K-12 Education and Academic Outcomes .................................... 3 Benefits and Challenges of Virtual K-12 Programs .................................. 3 Federal and State Guidance Pertaining to Virtual K-12 Education ............. 4 DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................... 4 SURVEY RESULTS ................................................................................. 4 Number and Type of State-level Virtual Public School Programs ............... 4 Serving Students with Disabilities ........................................................ 5 Disability Categories .......................................................................... 5 Courses for Students with IEPs ............................................................ 5 Personnel ......................................................................................... 6 Evaluation and Identification ............................................................... 6 Implementation of IEP ........................................................................ 6 Related Services ................................................................................ 7 Assistive Technology .......................................................................... 7 Accountability.................................................................................... 7 Policy Guidance and Resources ............................................................ 7 Challenges of Serving Students with Disabilities .................................... 8 Benefits of Serving Students with Disabilities ........................................ 8 Concluding Remarks ............................................................................. 8 References .......................................................................................... 9 inForum Serving Students with Disabilities in State-level Virtual K-12 Public School Programs INTRODUCTION Because the virtual public school landscape is relatively new--and changing and expanding at such a rapid rate--very little is known about how these schools are currently serving students with disabilities. The purpose of this document is to describe how state-level virtual public school programs are serving students with disabilities and to identify both significant benefits and challenges associated with virtual special education. Project Forum at the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) completed this analysis as part of its cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education s Office of Special Education Programs. BACKGROUND What is Virtual Education Virtual education is defined as instruction in a learning environment where the teacher and the student are separated by time space or both and the teacher provides course content via course management applications (e.g. Blackboard) multimedia resources Internet video conferencing or other alternatives to traditional face-to-face education. Terms that are often used interchangeably with virtual education include cyber education online education and e-learning. Prevalence of Virtual K-12 Education From 2002 to 2007 the National Center for Education and Statistics (NCES) reported a 60 percent increase in K-12 distance education enrollments with courses ranging from Advanced Placement (AP) to remedial and credit recovery (Zandberg & Lewis 2008). Estimates of the total number of K-12 students enrolled in online courses range from about 500 000 to one million (Picciano & Seaman 2007 Watson 2007). Although estimated numbers of students with disabilities enrolled in virtual schools are unavailable interviews conducted by Project Forum in 2004 indicate that a From 2002 to 2007 the National Center significant number of students with disabilities are for Education and Statistics (NCES) reported a 60 percent increase in K-12 enrolled in virtual schools albeit proportionately distance education enrollments. less than are enrolled in traditional schools (M ller & Ahearn 2004). For example one virtual K-12 school reported serving approximately 775 students with individualized education programs (IEPs) out of a total of 11 700 another reported serving 1 700 students with IEPs out of a total of 18 000 and a third reported serving approximately 600 students with IEPs out of a total of 7 000 (M ller & Ahearn 2004). The number of state-level virtual public schools has also increased significantly over the past five years with 15 state-level virtual public schools in 2004 (Hassel & Terrell 2004) and 25 in 2007 (Education Week 2008). While state-level virtual public schools are most likely to offer courses at the high school level at least 12 states also currently offer some form of K-8 virtual public schooling (Revenaugh 2005/2006). Most state-level virtual public school Serving Students with Disabilities in State-level Virtual K-12 Public School Programs Project Forum at NASDSE 2009 September -1-

INFO HASH : 9aeb54f0b7e054bde0ea7df114c32f265227b7c0

Download now

File Size: 463.7 kb