Online Graduate Certificate in Leadership in Special and Inclusive Education

This is an introductory course in special education law and policy implementation. It is designed to provide school and district administrators, and other special education stakeholders, with a basic understanding of key points in the history of special education law and policy. It focuses primarily on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its core concepts, with particular attention to Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). This course is designed to provide a working knowledge of IDEA’s procedural requirements, the preferred practices associated with implementing the procedures in schools, criticism of these practices and their implementation, and ideas for addressing these criticisms in ways that promote more equitable and inclusive special education practices.

This is course is designed to provide school and district administrators, and other special education stakeholders, with a general understanding of the history of the treatment of individuals with disabilities and the development of special education law and policy over time. It foregrounds current issues in the post-IDEA organization of the field, highlighting the goals and challenges of democratic leadership and civic professionalism in relation to special education. The course concludes with a final paper and online presentation examining how history, disability, difference and justice inform special education leadership, both in theory and in practice.

This course is designed to give school and district administrators, and other special education stakeholders interested in special education leadership, a deep understanding of two core principles of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These are: (1) appropriate education, and (2) least restrictive environment. The course continues the same pattern established in the previous courses for this four-course program. It introduces these core IDEA concepts, features a week of criticisms of those concepts, and follows with a week on remedies to address key issues identified. The last two modules of the course focus on the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) and inclusive practices. The course concludes with a final project.

This course is designed to give school and district administrators, and other special education stakeholders interested in special education leadership, a deep understanding of three of the core principles of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These are: (1) non-discriminatory evaluation, (2) parent participation, and (3) procedural due process. The course continues the same pattern established in the previous courses for this four-course program. It introduces these three core IDEA concepts, features a week of criticisms of those concepts, and follows with a week on remedies to address key issues identified. The last two modules of the course focus on the Individualized Educational Plan and inclusive practices. The course concludes with a final project.