Chapter 7: Roles of Related Professionals in Special Education

Roles of special education-related service professionals have changed since the passage of P.L. 94-142. Many children are spending a majority of their day in the general education classroom, however services can be delivered in a variety of settings ranging from the general education classroom to a one-on-one setting. Professionals deliver services based upon the educationally necessary model, which is determined by members of the Individualized Education Program team. Regardless of where services are delivered, when there are multiple related service professionals on a child’s educational team, there is a great deal of collaboration and communication required. A basic framework for ensuring this occurs includes selecting a key communication person or case manager, striving for clarity in communication, setting a schedule for consistent check-ins, removing discipline jargon, and communicating what is important to parents.