Students with disabilities and paraprofessional supports: Benefits, balance, and band-aids

Focus on Exceptional Children, Mar 2002 by Giangreco, Michael F, Doyle, Mary Beth

QUESTIONS REGARDING PARAPROFESSIONAL SUPPORTS

The remainder of this article addresses five contemporary questions within the sphere of control of school personnel, either individually or collectively, to improve paraprofessional supports for students with disabilities:

1. To what extent should paraprofessionals be teaching students with disabilities?

2. What impact does the proximity of paraprofessionals have on students with disabilities?

3. How does the utilization of paraprofessional support affect teacher engagement, and why should it matter?

4. How can authentic respect, appreciation, and acknowledgment of the important work of paraprofessionals be demonstrated?

5. What can be done to improve paraprofessional supports schoolwide?

For each question, we offer pertinent information from the literature and implications for practice. In an interrelated fashion, these five questions address the benefits associated with well conceived paraprofessional supports and the balance of paraprofessional supports with supports provided by others (e.g., classroom teachers, special educators, related services providers, peers). This is set within a context that challenges us to consider whether our existing or proposed actions to improve paraprofessional supports offer viable solutions that truly accomplish what we intend for students with disabilities or whether they are merely band-aids. Question 1: To what extent should paraprofessionals be teaching students with disabilities?

What the Literature Says About Question I

Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) allows for

paraprofessionals and assistants who are appropriately trained and supervised... to be used to assist in the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(15)(B)(iii).

The IDEA does not expound upon that provision. How should paraprofessionals assist? What does "appropriately trained and supervised" really mean? This is up to states and local schools to determine within the boundaries of the IDEA requirement to ensure that all children and youth with disabilities receive a free, appropriate, public education.

Confusion about these and related issues have led, over the last decade, to a steady stream of due process hearings, Office of Civil Rights complaints, and court rulings regarding the legal parameters of paraprofessional services in special education (Katsiyannis, Hodge, & Lanford, 2000).

The literature is filled with statements suggesting that paraprofessionals should work under the direction and supervision of qualified professional educators, special educators, or related services providers (Demchak & Morgan, 1998; Doyle, 2002; French, 1999; Gerlach, 2001; Pickett & Gerlach, 1997, Salzberg & Morgan, 1995; Wallace, Shin, Bartholomay & Stahl, 2001). As suggested by Pickett (1999), paraprofessionals "work alongside their teacher/ provider colleagues and carry out tasks that support the different teacher/provider functions" (p. 14).