Mike: Severely disabled students who are cognitively from 6 months to 2 years old have been placed in my middle school computer classroom for “mainstreaming.” Many are more like 6 months to 1 year old, cognitively. Most do not speak. Some do not move. They don’t read or write. They cannot type.
I have been told I can basically ignore the legal curriculum and base their “modified”grades in computers strictly on IEP goals, such as “student attempts task, remains calm during instructions, directs gaze.” In other words, they don’t have to do anything on the computer.
The district special ed department tells me that the state of California would consider this a “modification” of the computer curriculum, even though they are throwing out the curriculum (Microsoft Excel, typing, etc.) completely. They directed me to the following website for proof that this is legal:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/sr/promoretntn.asp
What should I do?
The para who is with those kids are your best resource. I sat in many classes (art, music, Spanish, computer science) as a para with kids with disabilities under the same situation. Some teachers would modify. Some would argue with the case managers about “who” should provide leveled work. Sometimes, I would just bring coloring pages related to the topic for the kids to complete during class as long as they are not “disturbing the class”. That was the reality. Many could not grasp the curriculum so modify it. You could argue with the case manager–who may be too overwhelmed to even know the child’s name–depending on the size of the district. Again, work with the para and know that they can learn something just in a different way and more modified.