|
In the fall of 2002 I began working for the City School District of New Rochelle (NY), where a large percentage of the student population is bilingual. I was specifically hired to provide services to bilingual, Spanish-speaking children at the elementary-grade level. My supervisor informed me that the district was struggling with the high number of bilingual children being referred and classified for special education services. Consequently, I was eager to provide the most effective service, especially since I had just left my previous job for imposing constraints on my ability to provide ethical service to their bilingual population.
I reviewed caseload files and became acquainted with my bilingual students. It was evident that they had been assessed using the traditional approach of "reporting scores," which may have resulted in misdiagnoses for some. Preliminary discussions with Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) team members and bilingual speech-language pathology colleagues revealed that our district reportedly expected standardized scores. However, I knew that, under IDEA 1997 regulations, such scores were considered invalid, unreliable, and biased for this population. Continuing to report them would violate my own and ASHA's Code of Ethics. I realized I would have to effect change in some way if I were to provide competent, nondiscriminatory services to these children.
I began by initiating discussions with PPS team members and other bilingual SLPs, allowing ample opportunity for debate, relying for support on state and ASHA guidelines and information I obtained from the Bilingual Extension Institute at Teachers College Columbia University. While colleagues expressed an interest in reviewing articles and sample reports, others were fairly tentative about my suggested bilingual assessment methods. Despite the mixed feedback, I presented my concerns to my supervisor, who was supportive and eager to have me provide an in-service to my colleagues, especially those in the speech-language-hearing department.
Soon after, the district introduced a new IEP (Individualized Education Program) database system designed to manage students' files more efficiently. During a training session, I discovered that SLPs would be required to include scores and short narratives extracted from their evaluations. I took advantage of the opportunity to privately discuss the issue of reporting scores with the director of special and alternative education, who was serving as co-trainer at that time. She expressed her understanding of bilingual assessment issues and suggested ways I could report my findings more fairly.
Since then, rather than reporting scores, I have generated evaluations using more appropriate qualitative measures, which have been supported by my administrators. I also have continued to make an effort to collaborate with my peers in the provision of appropriate bilingual service delivery, whenever possible. Finally, the district has organized a new initiative focused on examining the effectiveness of appropriate assessment practices. The goal is to enhance and expand the skills of the members of our district in assessment, intervention, and instructional strategies for our bilingual/bicultural population through seminars, in-service, and ongoing discussions. I, of course, am eager and proud to be a part of that.
Laura D. Rivera is currently employed as a bilingual SLP in the City School District of New Rochelle, NY, and privately provides early intervention services. Contact her by e-mail at ldrivslp@speakeasy.net.
|