| We have just looked at the full range of service options available in the new continuum. But how does the IEP Team determine which service or services are right for each student?
In order to address this important question, it is important to carefully document the interventions that have been attempted to meet the student needs. This documentation of interventions is referred to as anecdotal records, the topic of our next section.
Anecdotal records should address specific learning and/or behavioral issues, for example, when a student takes twice as long as his or her peers to complete short answer questions in American history class; or when a student refuses to do independent math sheets, involving word problems and, instead, walks out of the classroom; and, when a student is asked to read a passage from a work of literature and, instead, begins to mumble derogatory comments or throws things at others.
Anecdotal records should be brief and state exactly, in objective and in measurable terms, what you observed. It should not elaborate or interpret. It should only answer the questions Who?, What?, When? and Where?
Also, parents and colleagues are critical partners in helping to define and address these learning and behavior issues. It is in everyone's best interest that we make serious efforts to involve parents and that we document those efforts. Anecdotals are most effective when you collaborate with other staff members. Each staff member should maintain a record of the observed instructional need or inappropriate behavior and how interventions are succeeding or not succeeding across settings. Document all efforts. Examples of an anecdotal record format that allows for other staff members, including paraprofessionals, to contribute and a completed anecdotal record are available for you to review.
A staff member's anecdotals should have three parts: dates and times of observations, specific learning/behavior issues, and actions taken and results. Once you have gathered data regarding the student behavior in question, you need to work with your colleagues to formulate a hypothesis about what is causing the behavior to occur and to develop an appropriate intervention.
I like to define intervention in this way: A series of positive steps taken by a staff member to address a specific instructional or behavioral issue to enable the student to return to the classroom and function within the range of ability in his or her class.
Your anecdotal should also address the impact of your intervention. It is the intervention successful in addressing the problem presented? If not, what modification or alternatives are being considered? Be specific. This all sounds like it will take a lot of time and effort -- and it will, but it would be time well spent.
Anecdotals can be used to document student issues for the pupil personnel team, to support referrals for special education evaluation, to provide information at IEP Team meetings and to justify grievances under the Disruptive Child Clause. When a teacher or other direct service provider chooses to request a pupil personal team consultation, anecdotal records can help to identify the nature of the student's issue and interventions that have been tried. Anecdotal records are required when making a referral to Special Education. They must be attached to the Board's 3-page initial referral to the Committee on Special Education (CSE) form. Without adequate documentation of the interventions that have been attempted, including parent contacts or the reason why no such interventions were attempted, a referral can be turned back by the CSE for additional information. If you have adequate documentation and your referral has been turned back, notify your chapter leader and district representative. For IEP Team meetings, anecdotals provide the basis for helping to determine the services the student requires in order to progress in the general education curriculum, achieve his or her annual goals and short-term objectives and determine the student's least restrictive environment, whether that be a special class environment, or the general education classroom with supplementary aids and services. Lastly, for those situations that call for you to utilize the Disruptive Child Clause in the teacher's contract, anecdotals provide information to support that process.
The Disruptive Child Clause is found in Appendix B of the teacher's contract, page 169. It provides a mechanism to address situations where students threaten or engage in violent behavior. Appendix B is not a mechanism of first resort. Accordingly, careful documentation of all efforts to address the situation must accompany the grievance.
As you can see, anecdotals serve a variety of useful purposes. Remember, effective anecdotal records create win/win situations. Are there any questions? Members’ Questions
Question: Elementary ed bilingual teacher, and I want to know: Does a teacher need to go to the PPT before writing a referral? Alvarez: No. The PPT cannot be used as a precondition for referral of a student suspected of having a disability. However, all school referrals for special education evaluation must include documentation of parent contacts and general education supports or interventions implemented with the student in the general ed class or the reasons why no such interventions were attempted. A properly functioning PPT can be a resource for supports and intervention. Is there another question?
Question: I'm a paraprofessional with Special Education. Since I'm with the students every period except one, am I required to write anecdotals? Alvarez: There is no Board requirement that paraprofessionals write anecdotals. However, paraprofessionals can provide valuable assistance to the student and the teacher. As we have discussed, there are several parts to the anecdotal. The first is data collection. Since you work directly with the child most of the day, you are in an excellent position to make observations and record data regarding the child's learning and behavior. This would be an appropriate activity for you to undertake to prepare for discussions with the child's teacher. The next steps in preparing an anecdotal are formulating hypotheses and designing intervention. These tasks should be performed in collaboration with the child's teacher. The last step is recording the child's response to the interventions. As with data collection, this activity involves observations, which you are in a very good position to make and record. One more question.
Question: I'm a middle school general education teacher. What do I do when I have a special education student in my classroom that's not working out after utilizing all of the intervention strategies available? Alvarez: If you have used the anecdotal process we have recommended to document all of the strategies you have tried, including parent involvement, and your efforts have been unsuccessful, you should request an expedited review of the student's IEP. The student's parents will participate in this process and then the due process rights need to be maintained. Among other things, this means that the student's parents can require an impartial hearing or mediation of their recommendations. During this proceeding, federal law requires that the student remains in his or her current educational placement unless the parents and school officials agree otherwise. If you have any questions or concerns regarding anecdotal records or the referral process, please write to me or send me an e-mail at spedvp@aol.com. If you obtain any written directives that you view as interfering with your right to refer, share it with your chapter leader and district representative and send a copy to my office, Carmen Alvarez, United Federation of Teachers, 260 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010 |
November 20, 2009
