IEP's and the Meaning of Life...

There are a couple of questions nobody ever asks me and I wish they would. The first one:

"Hey Ben, what is the meaning of life?"

To which I would respond: "Next question."

The second one:

"Hey Ben, what the heck is Special Education all about?"

After spit-spraying Diet Coke at the surprise of this question, I would thoughtfully respond in the following manner:

Special Education is a free and public educational service for children ages 3-22. The services are funded in large part by State and Federal agencies thereby requiring considerable State and Federal oversight. 

State and Federal oversight typically translates into TONS OF PAPERWORK. 

But that's okay, because Special Education is important. You see, in theory, Special Education is supposed to provide meaningful access to a free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities.

When I say "disabilities" its important you know what I mean: Real human beings connected to real human families that face real human challenges on a day-to-day basis. That's what I mean. 

Back in 1972, folks got hip to the fact that kids with such challenges shouldn't be denied access to a free and appropriate public education based on their disability, their challenges, or their lives. In 1972, you could be very proud of our fine government for this recognition. It was and is a big deal. 

Fast forward 40 years and here we are. Special Education--as we know it--has only been operating for about 40 years. In that 40 years, a TON of research and a TON of monitoring has taken place. The research and the monitoring has revealed good things and bad things. 

Wanna know what the research and monitoring are still on the fence about? Wanna know what still has no conclusive evidence of its effectiveness? (And in some studies, very little effectiveness at all?)

Individualized Education Plans/Programs (IEP's).

Yup. It's true. That all powerful document that keeps special educators up at night? That document that all special education coordinators keep training and training and auditing and auditing?

It's kind of a wash.  

So, what? What does an iffy document have to do with Special Education?

Everything. 

Literally, everything in special education is funneled through that document. The free and public access to an appropriate education for a child with a disability is completely and utterly reliant upon that document. 

There you have it. Special Education is a wonderful social support service for children and their families that is completely beholden to a document with "iffy" effectiveness, reliability, validity, etc. 

I'm no whistleblower. Those of us in Special Education have known this for years. IEP's are the one thing that we would all just like to do without. Don't get me wrong. We want to make goals and we want to monitor progress, but we want a more efficient way to do it.

That said, I'm not one to worship the problem. I'm one who likes to work with what we've got.

If you or someone you know wants help navigating the special education process for their child, contact Dr. Springer for consultation and advocacy services right now.

Special Education is a wonderful thing. Don't let the stack of papers slow it down.