EDS795 The Special Education Director (3 cr.)

In this course the core competencies specifically required by Minnesota of school district leaders for licensure as a director of special education are analyzed and applied. Among the topics are federal and state laws, rules and procedures governing special education: statutory regulations regarding board meeting procedures that affect special education governance; management of special education program models acceptable in Minnesota: processes and procedures for analyzing student and district data; and the use of and accounting procedures for various resource allocation models.

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Interpret state and federal regulations governing monitoring of special education programs (Total Special Education System {TSES}, State Performance Standards {SPS}, and Minnesota Continuous Improvement Monitoring Process.
2. Analyze and evaluate special education administrative and service models used in Minnesota, and student and program outcome data for the purposes of long range program improvement.
3. Identify and critique policies, district vision, procedures, and practices for implementation of education services to ensure alignment with policies.
4. Apply the key requirements of the IDEA and ESEA legislation that affect special education students and programs.
5. Create strategies for special education advocacy groups, other district administrators, outside agencies, school board members, and Minnesota Department of Education.
6. Describe and evaluate when to use assistive technologies and specialized instructional strategies to support special education programs and students.