Supporting Students with IEPs in the General Education Classroom

Section 29.7 in the contract speaks to supporting students with IEPs in the general education classroom. The contract requires the District to notify the affected unit member(s) prior to assigning students with IEPs into their regular education classroom, and to provide the unit member(s) with a copy of the student’s IEP.  

The site administrator should assign students in such a way as to minimize the impact and equalize student load across the grade level or department. Another key right is that whenever the ratio of students with IEPs in a general education classroom exceeds 20% of the overall class size, the site administration will meet with the general education teacher, within ten (10) workdays of the request for such a meeting, to develop a class support plan. This 20% threshold is not a hard cap that prohibits an educator from having more than 20% of their class roster be made up of students with IEPs. The 20% is also 20% of your class’s total enrollment, not 20% of the class size caps found in the contract for your grade level.  

Per the contract, the class support plan must be developed and implemented.  Some examples of support may include, but not be limited to, smaller class size, redistribution of site Special Education staff, additional prep time, and/or the elimination of non-teaching duties or obligations. The site could also come up with other ideas if they have the resources to do so. If the plan is not developed, or the supports are not adequate, and the site could do more, there may be grounds for a grievance. Speak with your site’s SDEA Association Representative (AR) about any concerns and to develop a plan of action.