SPECIAL EDUCATION EDUCATOR ETHICS
As an educator to students with disabilities, you are guided by principles set down by the CEC. The CEC is the Council For Exceptional Children. The CEC is the largest international organization who's goal is to improve the education success of children with disabilities. As an advocate for children with special needs, the CEC works for appropriate government policies, sets the professional standards that you as an educator must abide by, and helps professionals obtain conditions that will benefit their practices.
As a professional educator committed to helping students with disabilities and exceptionalities, I know that you want to provide them with the best possible education. By following these guiding principles, you will be successful in your classroom. The ethics involved with being a teacher to students with special needs are as follows.
1.) You will have high expectations of all of your students, including those with exceptionalities. By maintaining these high expectations, you will help your student(s) reach their highest possible potential in ways that respect their dignity, language, and culture.
2.) When you are exercising professional judgement regarding individuals and their families, you will maintain a high level of professional integrity and confidence. If you are confident in your abilities to educate children with special needs, the child and their family will have confidence in you as well.
3.) You will do your best to incorporate your students with disabilities into as many meaningful and inclusive activities as possible. This applies to both the school and the community. Your school environment - you and your students, as well as faculty members - are a family. You want all of your students to feel included.
4.) As you interact with other professionals who provide services to exceptional children, you will conduct yourself in a professional manner.
5.) As you work with your students with exceptionalities, you will develop a mutually respectful relationship with both the child and his or her family. You need to make sure that you involve the child's family in decision making processes and keep them in the loop of whatever is going on.
6.) You will use evidence, instructional data, research, and professional knowledge in your practices.
7.) You will always put the physical and psychological safety of your students first.
8.) You will not engage, practice, or allow anything to occur that will harm your student with exceptionalities.
9.) You will always uphold the laws, regulations, and policies that affect your professional practice. You will work within the boundaries and limits set forth by the CEC.
10.) You will act as an advocate for professional conditions and supplies that will improve the learning environment and outcomes for students with exceptionalities.
11.) As an advocate for students with disabilities, you will engage in the improvement of our profession by participating in professional organizations.
12.) You will work to spread knowledge and growth about our profession and the ways that we work every day to improve the lives of all of our students.
In our practice, there are standards that we must adhere to in order to progress forward. Through teaching and assessment, we can better understand the needs of our students and work together to provide them with the resources that they require to reach their full potential in life. Special education professionals must adhere to the following standards regarding teaching and assessments. All of these professional practice standards for Special Education can be found online at the Council for Exceptional Children's website.
As a special education professional, you will adhere to the following standards:
1.) Individualize your instructional techniques based on each student's needs in order to maximize the learning outcomes of that particular child.
2.) Identify and use practices that are backed by evidence that are appropriate for that child's educational development.
3.) Assess your students periodically to measure their progress. After measuring their progress, you will either adjust or continue their learning strategies in order to maximize their potential.
4.) Create a safe, respectful environment for your students with exceptionalities that allows them to fulfill their needs, stimulate their learning, and realize self-positive concepts.
5.) You will be an active participant in selecting the materials that will be used to educate your students. Keep in mind that these materials must be culturally responsive and that these supplies and equipment must be appropriate to their learning.
6.) The assessment measures that you use to measure the progress that your student is making must be culturally and linguistically appropriate to your students needs.
7.) If you make any changes based upon behaviors, they must be evidence based, appropriate to their preparation, and which respect their culture, dignity, and basic human rights.
8.) Conform to local policies relating to disciplinary methods and behavior change procedures, except when the policies require your participation in corporal punishment.
9.) Unless the target of the behavior change is vital, refrain from using averse techniques unless more and less restrictive methods have failed in the past. You may only do this after you have had appropriate consultations with both the child's parents and the necessary agency officials.
10.) Do not engage in the corporal punishment of individuals with exceptionalities.
11.) Without delay, report instances of unprofessional or unethical practices to the appropriate supervisor. Delaying these reports could cost you your job.
12.) In order for an individual with exceptionalities to receive an appropriate education, you are to recommend special education services.
In regards to your professional credentials and employment, special education professionals will always:
1.) Represent yourself in an ethical, professional, accurate manner in regard to your own knowledge and skills when you are seeking employment.
2.) Make sure that anyone who practices or represents themselves as special education teachers, administrators and providers of related services are qualified professionals with appropriate credentials.
3.) You will always practice within your own knowledge and seek help from others when it is necessary.
4.) When you intend to leave your place of employment, you will provide the proper notice to the proper education agencies.
5.) If necessary, you will provide the appropriate supervisor notice when you intend to terminate employment.
6.) You will advocate for appropriate teaching and learning conditions for both you and your students.
7.) You will advocate for sufficient personnel in your school so that if a substitute teacher is unavailable for your class, your students learning and education will not be negatively affected.
8.) You will always seek professional assistance when you encounter personal problems that affect your job performance.
9.) You will ensure that public statements made by individual professionals are not constructed to represent an entire agency. Someone's opinion should not be considered an opinion for a whole group.
10.) If there is an inadequate source of resources, you will document and report these occurrences to the proper authority.
11.) You will always respond objectively and non-discriminating when you evaluate applicants for employment.
12.) If you encounter a professional problem in the workplace, you will resolve these matters professionally.
13.) You will seek clear, written communication of your duties and responsibilities.
14.) You will work to ensure understanding and respect among yourself and your colleagues.
15.) You will actively participate in planning, policy development, management, and evaluation of special education programs. By working together on polices and getting multiple opinions and ideas, we can offer our students a wide variety of options.
16.) Programs will be provided by qualified special education professionals like yourself and you are to expect adequate supervision of and support for special education professionals.
17.) You will expect clear lines of accountability and responsibility in the administration and supervision of special education professionals.
As an educator, professional development is very important. Even after graduating college, we as educators must continue to learn and grown in order to meet the individual needs of our students. Professional development refers to the never ending process of learning and growing, developing our skills, and acquiring new knowledge that relates to our profession. As a special education professional, it is your duty to:
1.) Maintain a personalized professional development plan. This plan should be tailored to fit your individual needs and it should advance your knowledge and skills.
2.)Maintain your current knowledge in procedures, policies, and laws relating to our craft.
3.) Engage in your own education. You should be just as enthused about your own learning and growth as you are in the education of your own students. The more we are educated, the better we can serve our students.
4.) Advocate that the employing agency that you are a part of provides resources for effective school-wide professional development and individual development.
5.) Participate in field experiences that can provide you with additional knowledge and skills.
6.) As appropriate, you will act as a mentor to other special education teachers.
Your work with others is very important. As you go through your education career, you will have many colleagues with whom you can share knowledge. As you interact with your colleagues, it is your duty to:
1.) Recognize and respect the skills of your colleagues. Everyone in the school system has something to contribute and if we all share our knowledge, we can create new methods and plans to provide to our students.
2.) Strive to develop a positive and respectful attitude among your colleagues. You must also have a positive attitude in regards to the public.
3.) You will collaborate with your colleagues to improve services and outcomes for all of your students.
4.) You will collaborate with both special education teachers and general education teachers. Oftentimes, you will have an inclusive classroom, in which you will have both typical children and children with exceptionalities.
5.) When a colleague's behavior is unethical or illegal, it is your professional obligation to intervene if the behavior is in anyway harmful to children with exceptionalities.
6.) Under no circumstances are you to engage in conflicts of interest.
There will be times that you have a paraprofessional in your classroom. A paraprofessional or paraeducator is someone who works under your supervision and provides instruction and help to students in your class. While working with paraeducators, you will ensure that:
1.) They have proper education and training for the tasks that they are assigned.
2.) You will only assign them tasks that they have been trained for.
3.) You are to provide ongoing information to paraeducators regarding their tasks and responsibilities.
4.) You will provide timely, supportive, and congenial communications to your paraeducators regarding their tasks and expectations.
5.) You will intervene whenever a paraeducator's behavior is illegal, unethical, or potentially harmful to a child with exceptionalities.
As you know, it is crucial to maintain a professional, courteous relationship the families of your students.your students. In order to do this, you will:
1.) Use culturally appropriate communication with parents. It is your job to make sure that your communications are respectful and completely understood by your student's family.
2.) You will actively seek and use the knowledge of parents of children with exceptionaltites in regards to planning, conducting, and evaluating special education services. You want to always include the families of your students because when we work together, we can make sure that every need of every child is met.
3.) You will always maintain communications among parents and yourself with respect, privacy, and confidentiality.
4.) You will provide your student's parents with information and professional methods that will help them increase their knowledge about their child and their child's abilities.
5.) You will always inform parents of their rights.
6.) You will recognize and practice in ways that demonstrate respect for both the student and their family.
7.) You will respect professional relationships with parents and students. This means that at no point will you attempt to take advantage of any situation, nor will you engage in any inappropriate relationships or conduct.
As educators, we are constantly learning. There is always a new program or method that can be implemented in order to help our students progress. It is your job as an educator to be knowledgeable in these practices and research methods and materials that will better help your students learn. When researching, there are a few guidelines to adhere to:
1.) Do not use your research to intentionally mislead others. Your research should be honest and backed by multiple sources of evidence.
2.) You will active support and engage in research that is intended to improve the learning outcomes for your students.
3.) You will protect the rights and welfare of those who are participating in research.
4.) You will interpret and publish your research with accuracy.
5.) You will monitor the consequences of research projects involving individuals with exceptionalities. If any activities occur that can harm these individuals, you will end them immediately.
6.) You will advocate for sufficient resources to support long term research that helps investigate methods that will help educate children with exceptionalities.
As an educator, it is your responsibility to maintain accurate, clear records of your students and their progress. You should use a multitude of techniques and practices to measure the progress of your students and this should be done in a timely manner in order to measure their progress. By measuring your students progress often, you can adjust their strategies and practices as needed. When you maintain your records, be sure to always:
1.) Maintain accurate student records. You are to keep these records confidential.
2.) You are to follow appropriate procedures and assist your school system in providing due process.
3.) Provide accurate data to administrators, colleagues, and parents.
4.) Unless information is released under specific conditions and with written consent, you are to maintain confidentiality of the information in your records.
5.) You are to engage in appropriate planning for the transition sequences of individuals with exceptionalities.
Individuals with exceptionalities often need support not just in school settings, but out of it as well. As an educator, it is your duty to perform assigned specific non-educational support tasks. These tasks can include administering medication when written instructions are on file, legal information is provided, and the professional liability for assuming the task is disclosed. You are also an advocate for special education professionals not to be expected to accept non-educational tasks routinely.
These standards and ethics are provided by the Council for Exceptional Children. For more information on standards, ethics, and procedures, follow this link to the Council for Exceptional Children's website: http://www.cec.sped.org/Standards/Ethical-Principles-and-Practice-Standards.
As a special education teacher, there are many ways that you can be helpful to the parents of a child with exceptionalities. However, there are a few missteps that you might take. Below, I've given a list of of simple Do's and Don't's that will help you along the way in regards to interacting with parents.
DO:
>Build relationships.
*It is important to be familiar with the parents of the children in your class. If you involve the parents of a child with exceptionalities in decision making processes, it will make them feel more welcome and like they have more of a say in their child's education.
>Be open to suggestions.
*If a parent suggests something, consider their idea. If they're trying something at home and they believe that it is working there, it might work in the classroom. Be open to new ideas. We all see things in different ways and sometimes, all you need is a different perspective.
>Answer questions.
*Know that sometimes, you will have to answer questions multiple times. By asking questions, parents are able to gain a better understanding of what is going on with their child's education. Be happy that they are involved.
>Be honest.
*Sometimes, we have to deliver bad news as educators. When this occurs, be calm and rational. Expect some form of emotional response, be it tears or anger. Know that these emotions are part of the process and they are perfectly normal. It's better to be honest now as opposed to having to explain yourself later.
>Respond quickly and professionally.
*When a parent asks a question, be it via email or in person, be prepared to answer promptly and professionally. Do not leave parents hanging or wondering. By providing them with prompt answers, they will be better assured and calm parents are happy parents.
>Watch your words.
*Sometimes, in trying to empathize with others, we often overstep. As an educator, it's important that you speak with clarity and understanding. It's easy to say to a parent, "I know what you're going through." The reality, however, is that you probably don't. Instead of saying "I know what you're going through," try saying, "I can't imagine how hard this is for you. If there's anything you need, please let me know. In regards to your child, do you think that we could try...?" or something to that effect. Let the parent know that you're trying but don't make them think that you are trivializing what they are going through.
DON'T
>Criticize what the parent is doing.
*The truth is, the parents of your students are probably doing all that they can.
>Fail to include a student with exceptionalities in your classroom.
*Students with exceptionalities are entitled to learn in their least restrictive environment. This means that they are to be included in the typical classroom as much as possible. Do not treat this student as a 'problem child'. They are to be included as much as possible and treated like any typical student.
For more information on Do's and Don'ts concerning children with exceptionalities, please see the IEP tab under Teachers at the top of this webpage.
As an educator to students with disabilities, you are guided by principles set down by the CEC. The CEC is the Council For Exceptional Children. The CEC is the largest international organization who's goal is to improve the education success of children with disabilities. As an advocate for children with special needs, the CEC works for appropriate government policies, sets the professional standards that you as an educator must abide by, and helps professionals obtain conditions that will benefit their practices.
As a professional educator committed to helping students with disabilities and exceptionalities, I know that you want to provide them with the best possible education. By following these guiding principles, you will be successful in your classroom. The ethics involved with being a teacher to students with special needs are as follows.
1.) You will have high expectations of all of your students, including those with exceptionalities. By maintaining these high expectations, you will help your student(s) reach their highest possible potential in ways that respect their dignity, language, and culture.
2.) When you are exercising professional judgement regarding individuals and their families, you will maintain a high level of professional integrity and confidence. If you are confident in your abilities to educate children with special needs, the child and their family will have confidence in you as well.
3.) You will do your best to incorporate your students with disabilities into as many meaningful and inclusive activities as possible. This applies to both the school and the community. Your school environment - you and your students, as well as faculty members - are a family. You want all of your students to feel included.
4.) As you interact with other professionals who provide services to exceptional children, you will conduct yourself in a professional manner.
5.) As you work with your students with exceptionalities, you will develop a mutually respectful relationship with both the child and his or her family. You need to make sure that you involve the child's family in decision making processes and keep them in the loop of whatever is going on.
6.) You will use evidence, instructional data, research, and professional knowledge in your practices.
7.) You will always put the physical and psychological safety of your students first.
8.) You will not engage, practice, or allow anything to occur that will harm your student with exceptionalities.
9.) You will always uphold the laws, regulations, and policies that affect your professional practice. You will work within the boundaries and limits set forth by the CEC.
10.) You will act as an advocate for professional conditions and supplies that will improve the learning environment and outcomes for students with exceptionalities.
11.) As an advocate for students with disabilities, you will engage in the improvement of our profession by participating in professional organizations.
12.) You will work to spread knowledge and growth about our profession and the ways that we work every day to improve the lives of all of our students.
In our practice, there are standards that we must adhere to in order to progress forward. Through teaching and assessment, we can better understand the needs of our students and work together to provide them with the resources that they require to reach their full potential in life. Special education professionals must adhere to the following standards regarding teaching and assessments. All of these professional practice standards for Special Education can be found online at the Council for Exceptional Children's website.
As a special education professional, you will adhere to the following standards:
1.) Individualize your instructional techniques based on each student's needs in order to maximize the learning outcomes of that particular child.
2.) Identify and use practices that are backed by evidence that are appropriate for that child's educational development.
3.) Assess your students periodically to measure their progress. After measuring their progress, you will either adjust or continue their learning strategies in order to maximize their potential.
4.) Create a safe, respectful environment for your students with exceptionalities that allows them to fulfill their needs, stimulate their learning, and realize self-positive concepts.
5.) You will be an active participant in selecting the materials that will be used to educate your students. Keep in mind that these materials must be culturally responsive and that these supplies and equipment must be appropriate to their learning.
6.) The assessment measures that you use to measure the progress that your student is making must be culturally and linguistically appropriate to your students needs.
7.) If you make any changes based upon behaviors, they must be evidence based, appropriate to their preparation, and which respect their culture, dignity, and basic human rights.
8.) Conform to local policies relating to disciplinary methods and behavior change procedures, except when the policies require your participation in corporal punishment.
9.) Unless the target of the behavior change is vital, refrain from using averse techniques unless more and less restrictive methods have failed in the past. You may only do this after you have had appropriate consultations with both the child's parents and the necessary agency officials.
10.) Do not engage in the corporal punishment of individuals with exceptionalities.
11.) Without delay, report instances of unprofessional or unethical practices to the appropriate supervisor. Delaying these reports could cost you your job.
12.) In order for an individual with exceptionalities to receive an appropriate education, you are to recommend special education services.
In regards to your professional credentials and employment, special education professionals will always:
1.) Represent yourself in an ethical, professional, accurate manner in regard to your own knowledge and skills when you are seeking employment.
2.) Make sure that anyone who practices or represents themselves as special education teachers, administrators and providers of related services are qualified professionals with appropriate credentials.
3.) You will always practice within your own knowledge and seek help from others when it is necessary.
4.) When you intend to leave your place of employment, you will provide the proper notice to the proper education agencies.
5.) If necessary, you will provide the appropriate supervisor notice when you intend to terminate employment.
6.) You will advocate for appropriate teaching and learning conditions for both you and your students.
7.) You will advocate for sufficient personnel in your school so that if a substitute teacher is unavailable for your class, your students learning and education will not be negatively affected.
8.) You will always seek professional assistance when you encounter personal problems that affect your job performance.
9.) You will ensure that public statements made by individual professionals are not constructed to represent an entire agency. Someone's opinion should not be considered an opinion for a whole group.
10.) If there is an inadequate source of resources, you will document and report these occurrences to the proper authority.
11.) You will always respond objectively and non-discriminating when you evaluate applicants for employment.
12.) If you encounter a professional problem in the workplace, you will resolve these matters professionally.
13.) You will seek clear, written communication of your duties and responsibilities.
14.) You will work to ensure understanding and respect among yourself and your colleagues.
15.) You will actively participate in planning, policy development, management, and evaluation of special education programs. By working together on polices and getting multiple opinions and ideas, we can offer our students a wide variety of options.
16.) Programs will be provided by qualified special education professionals like yourself and you are to expect adequate supervision of and support for special education professionals.
17.) You will expect clear lines of accountability and responsibility in the administration and supervision of special education professionals.
As an educator, professional development is very important. Even after graduating college, we as educators must continue to learn and grown in order to meet the individual needs of our students. Professional development refers to the never ending process of learning and growing, developing our skills, and acquiring new knowledge that relates to our profession. As a special education professional, it is your duty to:
1.) Maintain a personalized professional development plan. This plan should be tailored to fit your individual needs and it should advance your knowledge and skills.
2.)Maintain your current knowledge in procedures, policies, and laws relating to our craft.
3.) Engage in your own education. You should be just as enthused about your own learning and growth as you are in the education of your own students. The more we are educated, the better we can serve our students.
4.) Advocate that the employing agency that you are a part of provides resources for effective school-wide professional development and individual development.
5.) Participate in field experiences that can provide you with additional knowledge and skills.
6.) As appropriate, you will act as a mentor to other special education teachers.
Your work with others is very important. As you go through your education career, you will have many colleagues with whom you can share knowledge. As you interact with your colleagues, it is your duty to:
1.) Recognize and respect the skills of your colleagues. Everyone in the school system has something to contribute and if we all share our knowledge, we can create new methods and plans to provide to our students.
2.) Strive to develop a positive and respectful attitude among your colleagues. You must also have a positive attitude in regards to the public.
3.) You will collaborate with your colleagues to improve services and outcomes for all of your students.
4.) You will collaborate with both special education teachers and general education teachers. Oftentimes, you will have an inclusive classroom, in which you will have both typical children and children with exceptionalities.
5.) When a colleague's behavior is unethical or illegal, it is your professional obligation to intervene if the behavior is in anyway harmful to children with exceptionalities.
6.) Under no circumstances are you to engage in conflicts of interest.
There will be times that you have a paraprofessional in your classroom. A paraprofessional or paraeducator is someone who works under your supervision and provides instruction and help to students in your class. While working with paraeducators, you will ensure that:
1.) They have proper education and training for the tasks that they are assigned.
2.) You will only assign them tasks that they have been trained for.
3.) You are to provide ongoing information to paraeducators regarding their tasks and responsibilities.
4.) You will provide timely, supportive, and congenial communications to your paraeducators regarding their tasks and expectations.
5.) You will intervene whenever a paraeducator's behavior is illegal, unethical, or potentially harmful to a child with exceptionalities.
As you know, it is crucial to maintain a professional, courteous relationship the families of your students.your students. In order to do this, you will:
1.) Use culturally appropriate communication with parents. It is your job to make sure that your communications are respectful and completely understood by your student's family.
2.) You will actively seek and use the knowledge of parents of children with exceptionaltites in regards to planning, conducting, and evaluating special education services. You want to always include the families of your students because when we work together, we can make sure that every need of every child is met.
3.) You will always maintain communications among parents and yourself with respect, privacy, and confidentiality.
4.) You will provide your student's parents with information and professional methods that will help them increase their knowledge about their child and their child's abilities.
5.) You will always inform parents of their rights.
6.) You will recognize and practice in ways that demonstrate respect for both the student and their family.
7.) You will respect professional relationships with parents and students. This means that at no point will you attempt to take advantage of any situation, nor will you engage in any inappropriate relationships or conduct.
As educators, we are constantly learning. There is always a new program or method that can be implemented in order to help our students progress. It is your job as an educator to be knowledgeable in these practices and research methods and materials that will better help your students learn. When researching, there are a few guidelines to adhere to:
1.) Do not use your research to intentionally mislead others. Your research should be honest and backed by multiple sources of evidence.
2.) You will active support and engage in research that is intended to improve the learning outcomes for your students.
3.) You will protect the rights and welfare of those who are participating in research.
4.) You will interpret and publish your research with accuracy.
5.) You will monitor the consequences of research projects involving individuals with exceptionalities. If any activities occur that can harm these individuals, you will end them immediately.
6.) You will advocate for sufficient resources to support long term research that helps investigate methods that will help educate children with exceptionalities.
As an educator, it is your responsibility to maintain accurate, clear records of your students and their progress. You should use a multitude of techniques and practices to measure the progress of your students and this should be done in a timely manner in order to measure their progress. By measuring your students progress often, you can adjust their strategies and practices as needed. When you maintain your records, be sure to always:
1.) Maintain accurate student records. You are to keep these records confidential.
2.) You are to follow appropriate procedures and assist your school system in providing due process.
3.) Provide accurate data to administrators, colleagues, and parents.
4.) Unless information is released under specific conditions and with written consent, you are to maintain confidentiality of the information in your records.
5.) You are to engage in appropriate planning for the transition sequences of individuals with exceptionalities.
Individuals with exceptionalities often need support not just in school settings, but out of it as well. As an educator, it is your duty to perform assigned specific non-educational support tasks. These tasks can include administering medication when written instructions are on file, legal information is provided, and the professional liability for assuming the task is disclosed. You are also an advocate for special education professionals not to be expected to accept non-educational tasks routinely.
These standards and ethics are provided by the Council for Exceptional Children. For more information on standards, ethics, and procedures, follow this link to the Council for Exceptional Children's website: http://www.cec.sped.org/Standards/Ethical-Principles-and-Practice-Standards.
As a special education teacher, there are many ways that you can be helpful to the parents of a child with exceptionalities. However, there are a few missteps that you might take. Below, I've given a list of of simple Do's and Don't's that will help you along the way in regards to interacting with parents.
DO:
>Build relationships.
*It is important to be familiar with the parents of the children in your class. If you involve the parents of a child with exceptionalities in decision making processes, it will make them feel more welcome and like they have more of a say in their child's education.
>Be open to suggestions.
*If a parent suggests something, consider their idea. If they're trying something at home and they believe that it is working there, it might work in the classroom. Be open to new ideas. We all see things in different ways and sometimes, all you need is a different perspective.
>Answer questions.
*Know that sometimes, you will have to answer questions multiple times. By asking questions, parents are able to gain a better understanding of what is going on with their child's education. Be happy that they are involved.
>Be honest.
*Sometimes, we have to deliver bad news as educators. When this occurs, be calm and rational. Expect some form of emotional response, be it tears or anger. Know that these emotions are part of the process and they are perfectly normal. It's better to be honest now as opposed to having to explain yourself later.
>Respond quickly and professionally.
*When a parent asks a question, be it via email or in person, be prepared to answer promptly and professionally. Do not leave parents hanging or wondering. By providing them with prompt answers, they will be better assured and calm parents are happy parents.
>Watch your words.
*Sometimes, in trying to empathize with others, we often overstep. As an educator, it's important that you speak with clarity and understanding. It's easy to say to a parent, "I know what you're going through." The reality, however, is that you probably don't. Instead of saying "I know what you're going through," try saying, "I can't imagine how hard this is for you. If there's anything you need, please let me know. In regards to your child, do you think that we could try...?" or something to that effect. Let the parent know that you're trying but don't make them think that you are trivializing what they are going through.
DON'T
>Criticize what the parent is doing.
*The truth is, the parents of your students are probably doing all that they can.
>Fail to include a student with exceptionalities in your classroom.
*Students with exceptionalities are entitled to learn in their least restrictive environment. This means that they are to be included in the typical classroom as much as possible. Do not treat this student as a 'problem child'. They are to be included as much as possible and treated like any typical student.
For more information on Do's and Don'ts concerning children with exceptionalities, please see the IEP tab under Teachers at the top of this webpage.