1

Field Experience C: Practical Implications of IDEA

Cassidy Tiehen

Grand Canyon University

EAD 505: Educational Law

Dr. Gustafson

February 10, 2021

Field Experience C: Practice Implications of IDEA

My mentor principal once said to me, “What you permit, you promote” and that quote

has guided many of my decisions and beliefs since then. You must create an environment in a

building where no discrimination is acceptable. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

states, “Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our

national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and

economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities (IDEA, 2019, Section 100.c.1).” This

week’s field experience intrigued me so I met with the Special Education director, the School

Psychologist, and my Principal Mentor.

Interview 1 with Pupil Services Director and School Psychologist

Due to my curiosity and passion for Students with Disabilities, I chose to interview both

the Pupil Services Director and School Psychologist for my School District. No matter who I was

interviewing there was one common goal: student success. As a future administrator it was

crucial to hear from people currently involved with that success.

Pupil Services Director

Due to being employed in a small district that has two elementary schools, one middle

school, and one high school, the Special Education Director is the overall Pupil Services Director

as well. She stated that her role is to: develop and maintain special education files, mediate and

communicate between families and buildings in relation to due process and compliance

complaints, supervise all related services, develop and maintain federal grants for special

education, Title IX coordinator, state reporting, oversee specialized programming, and any

additional responsibilities. She explained that, essentially, any student or special education
 3

related concern or situation is her job to handle and maintain to fidelity with federal, local, and

district policies and laws.

School Psychologist

The School Psychologist in my building described her duty, related to students with

disabilities, as abiding by Child Find. She explained Child Find as a legal requirement that

expects schools to evaluate any student who they feel may be eligible for special education

services or accommodations of any kind. Her focus is to bridge the communication between the

families and the schools regarding service and collaborating with the families on how to service

the students the best way possible. She also explained to me that a few times a year, as part of

Child Find, she is required to hold free screenings for cognitive or speech and language

disabilities. This is partly to make the community aware of the services that can be provided for

student’s education. This also allows the services to be gapped between school and the

community so that students are receiving consistent and available services. A students

counseling minutes that they may receive in an Individualized Education Plan, she would focus

on teaching them schools to be successful in school.

Interview 2 with Mentor Principal

During the interview with my Mentor Principal, we focused on her specific involvement

with Special Education students. She laid out some of the roles as: scheduling supports and

minutes for Individualized Educational Plans, working closely with case managers, knowing

how to access IEP’s in the system, acting as the Local Educational Authority in meetings, and

taking care of behavior responses and referrals to back up the Special Education teachers. When

asking her more questions, I learned that a Local Educational Authority, in an IEP meeting, is an

individual who can make decisions based on ability and authority. The individual who acts as the
 4

LEA in an IEP meeting is authorized to give out resources that may vary from Human Resource

resources to budget needs. This person must truly advocate for what is critically necessary for the

student to receive the best and appropriate free public education possible.

Functions of the Principal/Additional Resources

The functions of the principal with Students with Disabilities were identified as:

1. Building Awareness of Students with Individualized Educational Plans

a. Making sure to understand their plans and the minutes they are entitled to in

their plans.

2. Being up to date with Special Education Law

a. It is critical to know eligibility criteria and have preemptive meetings about the

students before they are being referred.

b. The meeting must run according to law and there should not be any terms used

that could cause the district liability.

3. Providing Extra Supports and Enforcing Services

a. An administrator must be prepared with information regarding budget and

allocation of funds for students with disabilities.

b. Ready to make decisions in collaboration with the families (Coordinating

transportation, making the arrangements for them, providing them with

information for outside sources).

4. Administrators MUST ask the deeper-thinking, tough questions.

a. What is the trigger of the behavior? Is this an accurate goal? Is this realistic?

Does the student need x amount of minutes? Does this service provide evidence

for our goals?

b. When tough questions are asked the questions truly allow for an Individualized

Plan

i. Students are not just being pushed through the process and given the same

services and goals year after year. These things should change every year

so we are accurately able to gauge the student’s growths.

5. Administrator’s best practice in order to make the school community successful is to

develop relationships with their Special Education team.

a. When a team feels trust, collaboration, and transparency than they will accept

advice or questions without taking it in a personal matter.

b. If in an IEP meeting, and an administrator asks questions, they may not come

off as rude or intrusive if they have an established and trusting relationship with

the Special Education case manager.

c. Case Managers will be more receptive to critique in their Plans if they know

that their administrator is doing so with a genuine and trusting heart.

The following Community Resources in Wisconsin would help Special Education teams

understand student needs better:

1. Wisconsin Statewide Parent Educator Initiative (WSPEI Website)

a. This Initiative makes the connections for educators on how to bridge services in

school with learning at home. This initiative also provides educators with

addressing General Special Education Concerns and Questions, Information about

the IEP Process, and Relevant Resources and Referrals.

2. Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training, and Support (FACETS)

a. This assistance center provides a plethora of links and information that gives

educators and teams accurate, reliable, and current information about special

education programming, eligibility, and laws.

b. This gives educators checklists and learning resources to make the evaluation

process smooth throughout.

3. Disability Rights Wisconsin (Disability Rights Wisconsin)

a. This resources provides educators and teams with the ability to access referrals,

specific disability eligibility, advocacy toolkits, and educational strategies to use

with students with disabilities.

b. With these guides and professional development, educators can make decisions

using a plethora of resources and accurate information related to students with

disabilities.

Reflection/Implications for Future Practice

Reflection on the interviews and the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders had

me making connections between what I learned and want to implement in my future as an

administrator. The passion for Students with Disabilities that each of my interviewees showed

pushed me to feel more passionate about providing these students with the best education that I

possibly can. When looking at the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, Standards 5,

7, and 8 stood out to me as being prevalent when working with Students with Disabilities.

Standard 5: Community of Care and Supports of Students explains that an

administrators duties are to “Build and maintain a safe, caring, and healthy school environment

that meets that the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of each student (PSEL,
 7

2015).” I plan to address this by making sure I build connections with the students and have

knowledge of their needs. In order to provide them with a successful environment that meets

their needs, I need to know what their needs are and make that a number one priority in the

building and among staff. This could be done by knowing which students are in need of medical

services, occupational therapy, and any other related services and implementing supports from

all areas to be sure they are successful in receiving those.

Standard 7: Professional Community for Teachers and Staff addresses the need for

administrators to, “Empower and entrust teachers and staff with collective responsibility for

meeting the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs of each student, pursuant to mission,

vision, and core values of the school (PSEL, 2015).” In my future practice, I would like to

implement this as learned in my previous stated interviews. I would like to make sure that I am

establishing relationships with all staff, but making sure to build strong relationships with the

Special Education team. Making sure to understand how each of them work and knowing how

they may react to tough questions, situations, and meetings is crucial when working on teams for

students with disabilities. I also would like to implement teams throughout the building so that

all staff have a responsibility that addresses needs that may not be met during strict curriculum

time. For example, maybe one team works on how to gain student engagement whether it is

through school dances or any other activities or motivations.

Standard 8: Meaningful Engagement of Families and Communities is the key to

successfully connecting with families of students with disabilities. This standard states,

“Effective educational leaders engage families and the community in meaningful, reciprocal, and

mutually beneficial ways to promote each student’s academic success and well-being (PSEL,

2015).” This is evident when working on a students Individualized Educational Plan or 504
 8

Accommodation Program. Without effective collaboration with families and communities,

students are not going to be successful in their programs and services. The parents must be

involved through the eligibility process and truly understand what the information means for

their student. An excellent administrator provides quality education for students when they build

a transparent, trusting, and collaborative relationship with parents and stakeholders in the

community. Transparency is critical, especially when discussing the needs of a student with

disabilities.
 9

References

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 14 CFR. § 12.51.530. (1990). 

Disabilities Rights Wisconsin. (2021, February 4). Children with Disabilities. Disability Rights

Wisconsin. https://disabilityrightswi.org/resource-center/children-with-

disabilities/Copeland, T., Henderson, B., Mayer, B., & Nicholson, S. (2013). Three

different paths for tabletop gaming in school libraries. Library Trends, 61(4), 825–835.

https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2013.0018

National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for

Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author.

Wisconsin Family Assistance Centers for Educators Training and Supports. (2021). Online

Resources | WI FACETS. https://wifacets.org/linksAmerican Psychological Association.

(2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Wisconsin Parent Educator Initiative. (2021). WSPEI | Family Engagement. WSPEI: Educators

& Administrators. https://wspei.org/educators/family-engagement.php.