Title:

The Basic IDEA: The Individuals with Disabilities Act in Your Classroom By: Walter,
Jennifer Stewart, Teaching Music, 10697446, 20061201, Vol. 14, Issue 3
Database:
ERIC

HTML Full Text

1. IDEA Definitions

2. The Role of Music Educators

3. Resources

Section:
Special Learners

Fifteen-year-old Travis Watt is impaired by the lasting effects of fetal alcohol syndrome, passed
on 10 him from his birth mother during pregnancy. His challenges include delayed speech and
language development, difficulty reading and writing, a lack of physical coordination, and
underdeveloped social skills. Travis was already a member of the band when Ms. Lewthwaite
became the new band director A recent college graduate, Ms. Lewthwaite felt tremendously
unprepared to educate Travis and was uncomfortable with the possibility of having an atypical
student in band. Despite these fears, Ms. Lewthwaite, Travis, Mr. and Mrs. Watt, and Travis's
other teachers developed open lines of communication and used the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) as a guide to determine what was best for Travis musically and socially In
the end, the team collaborated to review and revise Travis's Individual Education Program (IEP)
and was able to help Travis participate successfully in band.

IDEA is the cornerstone of special education legislation and affects every teacher in the nation.
Although regular classroom teachers learn about IDEA and how to educate students with
disabilities in their preservice courses, many music teachers have had only a brief introduction to
such training. Since it's inevitable that students with disabilities will be placed in music
classrooms, music teachers need to learn not only the language of the law, but also how it applies
to them in their music classrooms. In addition, music teachers who arc actively involved in
implementing IDEA mandates and educating students with disabilities may find that their
classrooms run more smoothly and that all students are able to enjoy music more fully. IDEA has
six basic mandates:
 All students with disabilities will receive a free, appropriate public education with related
services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for employment and
independent living.

Parents', guardians', and students' rights will be protected.

Federal, slate, and local education agencies will implement appropriate services.

States will implement early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Educators, parents, and guardians will have the necessary education, tools, and services
to improve the educational results of students with disabilities.

States will assess and ensure the effectiveness of services provided to students.
Assessment is required once a year or more often if necessary.

These mandates require special education and related services for school-age students with
disabilities, and even some services for children from birth to age three. By law, all students with
disabilities have the right to a music education with the primary goal of meaningful experiences
with music.

IDEA Definitions

Music teachers should become familiar with certain IDEA terms and their specific meanings
under the law:

Special education refers to instruction designed to meet the unique needs of students
with disabilities. This instruction is offered at no cost to parents. Special education may
take place in inclusive classroom settings, special education or self-contained classrooms,
the student's home, a rehabilitation facility, or a hospital.

Related services are those required to help students with disabilities benefit from special
education, including transportation, developmental or corrective therapies, and support
services. Examples include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and
counseling or psychological support services. In some states, music therapy is considered
a related service.

Least restrictive environment refers to the most appropriate type of classroom for
educating students with disabilities. The least restrictive environment will vary from
student to student and is decided by a team of teachers, parents and guardians, and other
support personnel.

There are three basic environments for delivering music instruction to students with disabilities:
inclusive music education, self-contained music education, and a combination of the two.
Inclusive music education refers to students with disabilities being educated alongside their
nondisabled peers. Although inclusive music education is frequently prescribed for students with
disabilities, such a placement decision should be made in consultation with the music educator
and determined primarily on the basis of whether the student with disabilities has the appropriate
music skills or the potential to learn the appropriate music skills necessary for that particular
setting (e.g., band, chorus, general music, guitar, orchestra, percussion ensemble, piano).
Inclusive music education settings should not result in classes exceeding standard class size and
should not result in a disproportionate number of students with disabilities in any one class.

Self-contained music education refers to students with disabilities being educated in a smaller
class with other students with disabilities. A music educator or a music therapist may deliver
instruction and, in addition to teaching about music concepts, may use music to teach nonmusic
skills that are functionally valuable, such as self-care, math, reading, or appropriate social
behavior. Some students may do best with a combination of inclusive and self-contained settings,
either for a limited or an extended period of time.

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a written statement for each student with a
disability This document is developed, reviewed, and revised at least once a year. This
statement usually includes a students present level of educational performance, special
and regular education classes taken, related services, and evaluation procedures. An IEP
also frequently includes information about measurable goals and objectives (both
academic and social), modifications and accommodations necessary for progress to occur
in special and regular education classes, supplementary aids and support services, the
extent to which the student will participate in regular classes and extracurricular
activities, and the projected beginning and ending dates of services. In addition, the IEP
may include a description of transition services necessary for the student to move out of
the school setting, particularly toward the end of the high school years. These services
help the student with independent living, employment, transportation, communication,
and recreation.

The Role of Music Educators

A student receiving services under IDEA must be formally diagnosed by a professional who is
trained and authorized to diagnose disabilities such as a physician, counselor, psychiatrist, or
psychologist and documentation must be provided to the appropriate school officials. The
student must then be categorized under one of the disability classifications that qualify students
for services under IDEA,

Once a student is identified as needing special education services, an IEP team, consisting of
teachers, parents or guardians, and other support personnel, meets to determine what the student
needs and to write the IEP. In some school systems, all the student's teachers are included on the
IEP team, but in others, one or two teachers represent the rest. In addition, the student may be
included on the IEP team if team members agree it's appropriate.

Music educators have several rights and responsibilities related to students with disabilities who
attend their music classes and rehearsals. First, teachers have the right to see the IEPs of students
in their music classes. Some school systems allow all teachers to access the IEP of every student
with a disability in the school, because teachers may encounter students with disabilities during
lunch, hall, or bus duty or during other routine events at the school. Other school systems restrict
access to information about students with disabilities. However, if a student with a disability is
placed in a music classroom, the music teacher has the right to access that students IEP and to be
fully informed of his or her responsibilities in implementing any accommodations.

Music teachers also have the right and the responsibility to attend IEP meetings for each student
and to provide input about that student's music education. This includes the specific goals,
objectives, accommodations, modifications, and support services intended for music class.
Because the music teacher is the music expert in the school, only he or she can define and adapt
appropriate music goals for students with disabilities. In addition, music teachers are responsible
for documenting the extent to which the student is making progress toward meeting or exceeding
the goals defined in the IEP This documentation should include the student's progress toward
both academic and social goals and objectives and may be either formal assessments or anecdotal
records, such as of students' verbal and nonverbal interactions, disruptions, outbursts, or other
social interactions.

Music educators who teach hundreds of students a week may be overwhelmed by these
responsibilities; however, teachers are legally responsible for knowing who among their students
has an IEP and what information it contains. Teachers are also responsible far implementing the
accommodations and modifications recommended on each IEP. You may need to modify lesson
plans so all students have access to a high-quality music education.

There are strategies that you may use to learn more about your students with disabilities. If
possible, at the beginning of each school year, get a list of your students who have IEPs from
your guidance counselor or special educator, If there are many students, divide up the list in a
logical way and begin to work your way through each IEP. Setting deadlines for yourself will
ensure that you read all the IEPs in the first few months of each academic year and are making
appropriate modifications.

Attend as many IEP meetings as you can, and contribute as much as possible about students'
academic and social behaviors. When you are unable to attend IEP meetings, try to share with
others on the learn the goals and modifications appropriate for music, as well as the students
progress in meeting those goals. Communicating openly with the parents of a student with a
disability is another excellent way to maintain contact with the IEP team.

Although having students with disabilities in your music classrooms may seem difficult and
time-consuming, understanding the language of IDEA will help ensure that the law is met daily
in both inclusive and self-contained music classrooms. Being actively involved in the placement,
education, and assessment of students with disabilities in music classrooms will allow teachers to
be more fully cognizant of their rights and responsibilities related to students with disabilities. In
addition, teachers' involvement will help students with disabilities enjoy music instruction more
fully Music is central to the human experience, and music is for every child.

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Resources

Online Resources

American Music Therapy Association, www.musictherapy.org

Council for Exceptional Children, www.cec.sped.org

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities, www.nichcy.org

New Freedom Initiative's Online Resource for Americans with Disabilities.

United States Department of Education, IDEA resources.

Print Materials

Adamek, Mary S., and Alice-Ann Darrow. Music in Special Education. Silver Spring, MD:The
American Music Therapy Association, 2005.

MENC. Spotlight on Making Music with Special Learners. Reston, VA: MENC, 2004.

Music Educators Journal Special Focus Issue: Children with Disabilities, vol. 92. no. 4 (March
2006).

Schaberg, Gail. TIPS: Teaching Music to Special Learners. Reston, VA: MENC, 1988.

Sobol, Elise. An Attitude and Approach for Teaching Music to Special Learners. Raleigh, NC:
Pentland Press, 2001.

~~~~~~~~

By Jennifer Stewart Walter

Jennifer Stewart Walter is assistant professor of music education at the University of North
Carolina-Greensboro.