Teacher’s Edition:
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Administrators’ Corner
School leaders are responsible for supervising the instruction of all students. While the supervision of general education instruction is guided by established standards and curriculum, monitoring specially designed instruction (SDI) for students with disabilities can be challenging. High-leverage practices (HLPs) for students with disabilities developed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and the Collaboration for Effective Educator Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center (2024) provide a structure for meeting this challenge (Collaboration, Data-Driven Planning, Instruction in Behavior and Academics, and Intensify and Intervene as Needed). SDI development crosses the four domains of the HLPs.
Students who are eligible for special education are entitled to SDI that focuses on their unique learning needs (IDEA, 2004). Those needs can range from basic daily living skills to grade level academic skills. Planning for a student’s needs begins with the collaborative development of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). That IEP should drive day-to-day SDI focused on closing specific skill gaps. Inclusive school leaders expect special education teachers to map out day-to-day instruction that balances participation in the general education curriculum with student focused SDI.
To meet the expectations of day-to-day SDI, special education teachers require a variety of supports and tools. Without appropriate supports and tools, SDI can fall short of legal (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], 2004; Endrew, 2017) and practical effectiveness. Co-planning time has always been at the top of the priority list for special and general education teachers who are co-teaching (Friend & Barron, 2021). School administrators need to understand that it is not enough to have special education teachers attend general education planning meetings. Having special education teachers join general education planning can be valuable, but it may not provide the appropriate planning opportunity for developing the day-to-day SDI required for students with disabilities. It might be more effective to have special education teachers spend their planning time focused on developing SDI for specific students that connects to the general education curriculum regardless of the setting in which students receive instruction.
In inclusive schools, all students with disabilities spend time with their non-disabled peers. Specific disability categories do not determine placements or restrict access to, and progress in, the general education curriculum (IDEA, 2004). In Virginia, all students participate in the standards of learning (SOL) and the assessments associated with those standards. For students with significant cognitive disabilities the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has provided the Virginia Essentialized Standards of Learning (VESOL) designed to assist special education teachers providing instruction to students with complex learning needs. The associated assessment, Virginia Alternate Assessment Program (VAAP), has recently been updated to include reading, mathematics, and science standards that are linked to the more detailed SOL. Regardless of a student’s participation in the SOL or the VESOL, day-to-day SDI must be developed and delivered across settings.
An important tool that can be used by special education teachers is a planning or opportunity matrix (see Figure 1). This tool can help teachers identify opportunities during the school day to work on students’ IEP goals and deliver SDI. It is also important for school leaders to understand that inclusion does not mean that students with disabilities must complete every single general education assignment and then find time to complete additional SDI assignments (VDOE, 2019). For students with disabilities participating in the general education classroom, part of the planning should include decisions about which general education assignments are appropriate and which SDI assignments meet the unique needs of the student while addressing the grade level SOL. It is not the role of the special education teacher in a co-taught classroom to assist students to complete every general education assignment. Students who only receive general education instruction and assignments are not receiving the SDI they are entitled to even if a special education teacher is present in the room. The SDI Planning Matrix (Figure 1) provides an example of SDI mapped onto the master schedule. Shaded boxes indicate when there are opportunities to work on specific IEP goals and an X indicates when SDI and progress monitoring will take place (Beninghof, 2022).
Figure 1
SDI Planning Matrix
(Beninghof, 2022, p. 67)
The SDI Planning Matrix can be tailored to meet the needs of students across grade levels, needs, and settings. The IEP goals addressed can be functional and academic. Inclusive school leaders can provide the tools and coaching support to help special education teachers map out SDI as part of their day-to-day plans. Completed planning matrices can also be a valuable source of data for administrators analyzing their resources and master scheduling strategies. If SDI isn’t mapped onto the master schedule for students with disabilities, it is unlikely to receive the daily attention it needs for students to make progress.
School leaders can review the role SDI should play in planning for resource allocation and professional learning opportunities for teachers in prior editions of Link Lines Administrators’ Corner articles.
- Planning for Progress: Specially Designed Instruction (September 2024)
- Checking in on Specially Designed Instruction (December 2024)
- Engaging Teachers to Engage Students: Specially Designed Instruction in Action (March 2025)
School leaders in Virginia can reach out to their regional Training & Technical Assistance Centers (TTACs) for support focused on SDI and a broad range of topics related to supporting students with disabilities.
Additional Resources
- SDI Planning Matrix
- Activity/IEP Matrix
Haring Center for Inclusive Education Tip Sheet - Power Tools: IEP Planning & Specially Designed Instruction
Link Lines Article September 2018 by Susan Jones & Shelley Littleton
References
Beninghof, A. M. (2022). Specially designed instruction: Increasing success for students with disabilities. Routledge.
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, RE-1, U.S. 580 (2017). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf
Friend, M. & Barron, T. (2021). Specially designed instruction for co-teaching. Marilyn Friend, Inc.
Individuals with Disabilities Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004). https://sites.ed.gov/idea/statute-chapter-33
Virginia Department of Education. (2019). K-12 Inclusive Practices Guide. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/33463/638052335244270000.