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REVOLUTIONARY COMMON SENSE LIBRARY
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Writing
Curriculum
Modifications
in the IEP
Revolutionary Common Sense by Kathie Snow
www.disabilityisnatural.com
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) states: “A child with a disability is not removed from education in age-appropriate regular classes solely because of needed modifications in the general curriculum.” For example, a 10-year-old student should not be removed (or denied placement) in a fifth grade classroom just because he isn’t reading at grade level—the class reading material (in this case) should be modified so he can “be involved and make progress” (per IDEA) in the fifth grade curriculum. This is one in a series of articles about curriculum modifications.
Curriculum modifications (CMs) describe what the school will do to support the goals and objectives in a student’s IEP (Individualized Education Program). Generally, CMs fall within the “related services” category on an IEP form. Many parents (as well as many educators) are not familiar with CMs because so many students are still in segregated special ed rooms. Under these circumstances, CMs aren’t utilized since the student does not have access to the general ed curriculum, and functional (instead of academic) goals are written.
One of the barriers to inclusion is the belief that if a child is not doing “grade-level” work,
he cannot be in a regular ed classroom. But IDEA, as noted above, is very clear
that the need for CMs should not be the basis for excluding a child from the
regular ed environment. In order to follow the law, we need to thoughtfully
consider what CMs would enable a child to be successful in the regular ed environment.
Writing appropriate CMs is a critical component of the IEP for students
with disabilities who are in regular ed classrooms. Again, per IDEA,
the presumption is that students with disabilities will “be involved and make progress” in
the regular ed curriculum. Thus, the IEP team doesn’t always have to
focus on writing numerous goals (since the child is expected to achieve the
same/similar goals as his peers). Instead, the team will focus more on CMs,
to ensure the child will achieve those goals.
In my book (Disability is Natural: Revolutionary Common Sense for Raising
Successful Children with Disabilities) and in presentations on inclusive
education, I recommend parents have individual meetings with members
of the IEP team prior to the “official” group
meeting. This strategy enables parents to learn where each person is coming from,
negotiate the finer points, and hopefully reduce/eliminate an educator’s
opposition to a child being in regular ed classrooms. These pre-meetings can
also help improve parent/educator relationships, which can change the dynamics
of the “official” meeting and reduce the “us/them” mentality.
In these individual meetings or in the “official” IEP meeting, parents
can share how CMs can enable a child to participate in the regular ed curriculum.
When parents carefully plan ahead and suggest well-written CMs with a can-do
attitude, “resistant” educators will be hard-pressed to justify excluding
the child from a regular ed placement: parents have already done much of the
work in identifying a student’s needs and the modifications to meet those
needs!
Alternatively, progressive, welcoming educators may be the guiding force
in ensuring a child has the CMs he needs to be successful in the regular
ed environment. Regardless of who takes the lead, it’s very important to involve the child
in the process. It’s his education, not ours! Simultaneously, other students,
as well as other teachers, can provide ideas we can consider. Many heads are
better than one!
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Before deciding what CMs a student may need, we must be familiar with both
the curriculum and the student’s current abilities and needs.
Regular ed teachers
are familiar with their own curriculum, of course. Special ed teachers, unless
they’re already
providing services in inclusive classrooms, may not have a clue about the regular
ed curriculum. If parents have had an older child in the school, they may be
familiar with the classroom’s curriculum; if not, they can learn about
it by observing in the classroom and/or by reviewing the textbooks and other
materials, and then brainstorming what CMs their child will need.
A strategy that worked for my son in elementary school was for his classroom
teacher and I to review her lesson plan in advance. During the review, I
asked the teacher about the overall goal of the activity/lesson—in
other words, what was the goal for the class, as a whole? In some instances,
the goal would be the same for Benjamin. Still, he might need a modification
to enable him to achieve that “general academic” goal.
As an example (and in the primary grades), Benj needed worksheets enlarged.
So the classroom teacher would make a note for the teacher’s
aide to enlarge Benj’s worksheet
on the school copier the day before.
Sometimes, however, the teacher and I decided that the goal for Benj was
slightly different than her overall goal for the whole class. At that time,
she and I (and sometimes Benj) talked about what we wanted Benj to learn
from the activity/lesson. Again, the teacher would make notes in her lesson
plan. These were not written into his IEP as they were “on-going” goals that changed from month
to month, depending on the lessons/activities. During the first few months
of each school year, these “lesson-plan review meetings” took about
an hour or so. As the year progressed, however, my son’s teachers learned
from their own experiences, and were able to figure out the CMs on their own
and/or with Benjamin’s input. As a result, the need for us to review
the teacher’s lesson plans was reduced and/or eliminated.
Following are some examples of CMs for students in the regular ed environment.
When thinking about/writing CMs, remember these two important guidelines:
(1) CMs reflect what the school, not the student, will do, and (2) CMs
support the child’s participation in the general ed curriculum. Each CM should
begin with, “The school will:”
• Provide large-print books and materials [or books on tape].
• Provide oral spelling tests.
• Reformat/rewrite the sixth grade social studies’ text into a fourth
grade reading level.
• Provide a computer and geometry software [or software for art, writing,
history, etc.] that’s similar to the general
curriculum.
• Allow Clint to perform all math functions on a calculator [and/or computer].
• Provide a daily audiotape of the teacher’s lectures [to allow review
at home].
• Provide copies of teacher’s overheads one day prior to their use
[to enable the student to get a headstart on the material].
• Permit Mary to answer every other question on math tests.
• Extend test-taking time by 15 minutes.
• Provide small-group activities during science.
• Substitute videos on American History in lieu of the American History textbook.
• Provide math manipulatives in lieu of worksheets, and allow Amelia to
demonstrate math proficiency through demonstration.
If you get stuck, brainstorm with others, including the student, other teachers, students in the class, and even older children who have been in that class/grade level.
All children can learn. When students with disabilities are provided the
curriculum modifications they need, they can be successful academic
learners in the general education environment. They, like their peers
who do not have disabilities, will be able to go on to higher education
or enter the job market, in pursuit of their dreams.
©2002-07 Kathie Snow; all rights reserved. Permission is granted for non-commercial use of this article, as follows: you may download the PDF handout version of the article and photocopy to share with others and/or forward it as an Email attachment to others, for personal use as a handout. As a courtesy, please tell me (kathie@disabilityisnatural.com) how/when you use it. This is the intellectual property of Kathie Snow and is protected by Copyscape; permission is required before republishing in newsletters, on websites, etc. Clip art from www.clipartinc.com.
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