By Frances Shefter, Esq. (and mom)
Full Parent’s Guide to the continuum: Understanding Special Education Placement.
Part 4: Self-Contained Classroom
In Part 3, we talked about resource rooms and other pull-out services. For some students, that level of support is enough. For others, the IEP team may need to consider a classroom with a smaller student-to-teacher ratio and more intensive special education support. That does not necessarily mean moving the child into a separate classroom for the entire day. A student may need a more supported setting for one subject, several subjects, or all core academic classes, depending on the child’s individual needs.
Before getting to self-contained classes, there is often another option the team may consider: a co-taught class. A co-taught class is still a general education class, but there is additional special education support built into the classroom. Depending on the school system, that may mean a general education teacher and a special education teacher working together, or it may mean a general education teacher with a special education paraprofessional providing support. For some students, that additional support is enough to make general education work. For others, even a co-taught setting may not provide the level of individualized instruction or the smaller student-to-teacher ratio they need in a particular subject.
That is why I want teams to look at the child subject by subject rather than treating placement as an all-or-nothing decision. A student may be successful in a co-taught science class but need a self-contained math class. Another student may need self-contained reading and writing but do well in general education for social studies and electives. The question should always be what level of support the child needs in each part of the school day.
What Makes a Class Self-Contained?
The biggest practical difference between a self-contained class and a general education or co-taught class is usually the student-to-teacher ratio. Self-contained classrooms generally have fewer students and more adult support, which allows for more individualized instruction, more repetition and reteaching, a different pace, and more opportunities for the teacher to respond to each student’s needs.
That smaller environment can be very important for a child who is struggling to make progress in a larger classroom even with appropriate supports. At the same time, the words “self-contained” do not tell you everything you need to know. If the team is recommending a self-contained class, parents should ask what that classroom actually looks like. How many students are in the room? How many adults are there? How is instruction delivered? How much individualized support is available? What kinds of needs do the students in the class generally have? Those details matter because not every self-contained classroom is the same, and a smaller class is only helpful if the instruction and level of support actually match what your child needs.
Curriculum Does Not Determine the Placement
Another point that is important to understand is that the curriculum itself does not determine whether a student should be in a self-contained classroom. A student in a self-contained class may still be working on the general education curriculum and toward the same academic standards as nondisabled peers. That student may simply need a much smaller class, more repetition, slower pacing, or more intensive instruction in order to access the curriculum. Another student may be working toward alternative learning outcomes and receiving instruction that also includes functional academics, communication, independent living, vocational skills, or other areas based on the child’s needs.
Neither one of those academic paths automatically tells us where the child should be placed. A student who is working toward alternative learning outcomes does not automatically belong in a self-contained classroom. As we discussed earlier in this series, that student may still be appropriately educated in general education or co-taught classes for some or all of the day. On the other hand, a student who is working on the general education curriculum may absolutely need a self-contained class because the child requires a smaller student-to-teacher ratio or a more intensive level of instruction. The decision should come back to the child’s needs, not the label attached to the curriculum.
How Much of the Day Should Be Self-Contained?
This is another area where the data should guide the discussion. A student may need a self-contained setting for one subject but not another. If the child is making meaningful progress in a co-taught English class but struggling significantly in math despite appropriate services and supports, the team may need to consider a self-contained math class without changing the rest of the student’s schedule.
For another student, the data may show that the child needs the smaller student-to-teacher ratio for all core academic classes but can still participate successfully in general education for electives, lunch, extracurricular activities, or other parts of the day. Another student may need a more comprehensive self-contained program.
There is no reason to assume that because a child needs one self-contained class, all of the child’s classes should automatically become self-contained. The team should look at progress toward IEP goals, classroom performance, work samples, teacher observations, evaluations, and how independently the student is functioning in each setting. That information should help determine where the more intensive support is actually needed.
How Shefter Law Can Help
At Shefter Law, we help families look closely at the information behind placement recommendations. We review evaluations, Present Levels, IEP goals, progress data, classroom performance, teacher observations, and other information to determine what level of support the student actually needs in each part of the school day.
Sometimes the data supports one self-contained subject while the child remains successful in general education or co-taught classes for the rest of the day. Sometimes it supports self-contained classes for all core subjects. Other times, the information shows that a co-taught class can provide enough support without moving the student into a more restrictive setting. Our goal is to help parents understand what the data is actually showing so that the placement discussion stays focused on the child rather than on the program the school happens to have available.
If your child’s IEP team is considering a self-contained class and you are unsure whether the data supports that change, Start with a Free Case Analysis.
Final Thoughts
A self-contained classroom is not automatically an all-day placement. It is a setting that generally provides a smaller student-to-teacher ratio and a more intensive level of special education support. A child may need that level of support for one subject, several subjects, or all core academic classes.
Whether the child is working on the general education curriculum or alternative learning outcomes does not determine the placement. The same is true of the label attached to the class. What matters is whether the level of support in that setting matches what the individual child needs. When self-contained classes are being discussed, I want parents to look beyond the program name and ask what the class actually looks like, why their child needs that level of support, and what the data tells us about which parts of the school day require a smaller and more intensive setting.
If you need help understanding whether a proposed placement matches your child’s needs, Start with a Free Case Analysis.
Coming Next Week…
In Part 5 of the Special Education Continuum of Services series, we will look at special education programs located in another public school and what parents need to understand when the appropriate placement is not available in the child’s current building.
Previous → Part 3: Resource Room
Next → Coming Soon.
Full Parent’s Guide to the continuum: Understanding Special Education Placement.