Today’s parents of students with special needs have a lot of options. This is great, but wading through all these options can also feel overwhelming. How do you know what the best setting is for your child? You will undoubtedly receive recommendations from teachers, related service providers, school administrators, or even your child’s doctor. However, the decision is ultimately up to you. The best decision is the one that is informed!
Know Your Options
The first step is to make sure you are aware of all of the placement options. This is more complicated than deciding whether your child will be in an ICT or self-contained classroom. There are additional factors within these settings that will influence your decision. Would your child benefit from a one-to-one aide? Will they do better in a smaller class size? Perhaps they would benefit most from a specialized school. Here are the possible placement options, from least restrictive to most restrictive:
Regular classroom with supports.
This means that your child would spend their day in a regular education setting with any supports designated on their IEP. This might include preferential seating (being seated near the front/side of the room), directions given more than once, etc. They may still be taken out throughout the school day for related services like speech, Occupational Therapy, etc.
ICT (Integrated Co-Teaching) Classroom (part-time or full-time).
An ICT classroom has two teachers, one certified in general education and the other certified in special education. These classrooms have a mix of students with and without special needs, usually at a ratio of 40:60. This setting is especially beneficial for a variety of reasons. First of all, all students, whether or not they have special needs, benefit from learning among a diverse array of peers with different needs and levels of ability. Students in these settings have access to the regular curriculum, but have the benefit of a teacher with special education training to support their unique needs.
On occasion, an ICT placement may only be part-time. For example, a student might attend general education classes for all subject areas except English, for which he will be in an ICT classroom. This is usually only for older students who switch classrooms and teachers in between periods. Younger students typically stay in the same setting for the whole school day.
Self-Contained Classroom (part-time or full-time).
A self-contained classroom is one in which all students have special needs. Schools try to group students by similar need within classrooms as much as possible, though it doesn’t always work out this way, especially if resources are limited. Self-contained classrooms have different designations, such as 12:1:1, which means 12 students are with one teacher and one paraprofessional. Smaller settings include 8:1:1, 6:1:1, 12:1:4, etc. The lower the student-to-teacher ratio, the more restrictive the setting.
Specialized school.
These schools provide the highest level of support for students, but are also the most restrictive. One of the major benefits of attending a school that specializes in your child’s disability is that everyone on staff will be highly knowledgeable about what your child needs and how to best support them. They also typically have resources that may be limited or unavailable in regular schools. At the same time, students who attend these schools are not able to interact with non-disabled peers, which has been shown to be a beneficial part of their development. These schools are best for students whose needs cannot be adequately met in a regular education school setting.
Visit Your Child’s Potential School/Classroom
If your child’s new setting comes with a switch in schools, make sure you visit the school and, if possible, your child’s new classroom before committing. It can look like a perfect fit on paper, but it will be important that you (and your child!) get a good feeling while there.
Give Your Child a Say
While you know what’s best for your child, many parents are surprised by how attuned their children are to their own needs. Include your child in the decision to whatever extent is appropriate to their needs and ability. Younger children will be less involved in their placement, while older children may want and be able to be heavily involved. Lots of parents don’t even think to include their child in the decision, but it can make a world of difference.
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