****** American School Speech Pathology 2012 ******

The Girl with a Pearl Earring , Johannes Vermeer. Oil on canvas, 1665, Mauritshuis Museum. Celebrating 100 years of School Speech-Language Pathology: 1910-2010 Welcome journalists, government specialists, researchers, administrators! Thanks for your visit. It’s an honor to receive top-20 rankings!  Use Categories to the left to index our posts old and new. Dr. John M. [...]

ASHA Governance and School Speech Pathology Practice

Tracing through the history of  The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association gives one ideas and impressions about governance and organization shaping school practices in American schools. “Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes…In the case of a business or of a non-profit organisation, [...]

Describing Special Education Over-identification

Still under construction One encounters hundreds of  internet articles on over-identification not easily generalized for the broader view.  Here we begin to define terms, variables and issues in support of the broader view.  Description of the problem is essential. Theories explain and predict. IDEA 2004 STANDARDS IDEA 2004 sets clear standards for proper identification of at-risk children for [...]

Proof of School Speech Pathology Over-identification?

One of our SLP visitors posed a critical science question for all of us to consider.  Here is the comment: “I wonder where you get your data. SLP’s have to substantiate eligibility with standardized tests and data of progress. With our caseloads, there is no way we would take on a child that didn’t need [...]

American Speech-Language Pathology and Black School Children

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association needs to take a strong public stand against the over-identification of non-disabled minority children, particularly black children and bilingual children.  There should be a clear policy statement rather than random news items.  Global summaries about “multiculturalism” are empty.  School SLPs continue to over-place non-disabled children because of linguistic and cultural differences they confuse with [...]

Education Over-identification News 2012

At-Risk Black Children “Education Week reporter Nirvi Shah tracks news and trends of interest to the special education community, including administrators, teachers, and parents.” Ms. Shah points out the need to reduce the over-identification of black school children. “While African Americans make up approximately 17 percent of public school enrollment, they account for 31 percent of [...]

U. S. Department of Education

“In 1980, Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency. Today, ED operates programs that touch on every area and level of education. The Department’s elementary and secondary programs annually serve nearly 14,000 school districts and some 56 million students attending roughly 99,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools. Department programs also [...]

Superintendents Key to Special Education Over-identification

Progress in the analysis of education over-identification of at-risk American school children suggests that the chief problem is regulatory in nature.  One can make the judgment Congress and the Courts dating back to the 1960s established a clear foundation for regulating proper placements of children in special education. IDEA 2004 added provisions to reduce over-identification. [...]

Regulation of Education Disproportionality

President Secretary of Education Director, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) Director, Office of Special Education Programs Director of State Educational Agency “Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), state education agencies (SEAs) bear the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children and [...]

Why Do School Speech Pathologists Allow Over-identification?

Our experience posting on special education over-identification of at-risk children has exposed a deep paradox simple to state. Lupe Posada, signed. “Day of the Dead Woman.” Paradox:  Speech-language pathologists complain about teaching overloads but continue to over-admit non-disabled children.   Go figure! ##############