Today I am hopping mad. I just saw an IEP which is supposed to outline an Individualized Education Plan for children with Special Needs. This particular IEP had a sign-in sheet attached because the Special Education teacher failed to give 9.5 hours of one-on-one instruction to the girl that was to be served by the plan. The teacher was being directed to sign in on the sheet each day of the week to prove that she was there to administer a particular reading program. Several things irked me...a trained and licensed professional having to sign-in on a sheet each day because she cannot be trusted to deliver services, what's to say that she would not go back and fill in the signatures at a later date? Reading through this IEP there were so many issues that were red flags but when I looked at the top of the sign-in sheet it read "SPED sign-in sheet" for the title and near the line where the teacher was to sign, it read: SPED teacher.
It was one chilly day in 1977 when our teacher sat us down as a class and read us the "riot act." Seems as though some classmates were making fun of a few kids with mental impairments. They were yelling, "SPED" at them and calling them "Speds" in the hallways, at gym, during lunch. It was pointed out to us in no uncertain terms that this word was not to be used.
Then, like a blast from the past, on this IEP in this little Southern town, there it was. That ugly label. That nasty, limiting, four letter word. Please do not use it.
