Identifying Special Populations Students

Shannon Baker, Consultant

Special Populations, Civil Rights, Equity

NCDPI

Objectives

• Overview of job description;• Identify special population

students; • Establish relationships with CTE &

school staff; • Licensure requirements.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Sample from Perkins IV Table 3

Nontraditional CIP to Career Cluster

CIP 6 2010 CIPTitle_2010

Rec Clust No. Recommended Cluster Name_2010

CIP 6 2010

Nontraditional

01.0000 Agriculture, General. 1

Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

01.0000 F

01.0101

Agricultural Business and Management, General. 1

Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

01.0101 F

01.0102

Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations. 1

Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

01.0102 F

01.0103 Agricultural Economics. 15

Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

01.0103 N

01.0104 Farm/Farm and Ranch Management. 1

Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

01.0104 F

The Law…

• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972

Single Parents

• Includes single pregnant women• Unmarried individuals (female AND

male) with children and those expecting a child

The Law…

• Title IX • Title II• Section 504

Displaced Homemakers

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

Other Barriers to Education

• 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

Academically Disadvantaged

Potential Dropouts

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…

The Law…

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

docs/vocre.html

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

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.

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)