Resource Room in Special Education

This essay provides a general overview of the resource room. The resource room is designed to assist individuals who demonstrate weaknesses in the fundamentals of education. For individuals with disabilities, the resource room is an educational placement option. The resource room provides a broad continuum of service delivery options, strategies, and teaching methods. The pullout, self-contained, and collaboration/consultation models are a few of the available placement options. The purpose of this paper is to provide general information on the history, definitions, management, physical facilities, and future challenges of the resource room.

Keywords Collaborate; Consult; Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142); Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA 2004); Individualized Education Plan (IEP); Itinerant; Multicultural; Normalization; Physical Facilities; Pullout; Related Service Personnel; Related Services; Resource Room; Self-Contained Classrooms

Special Education > The Resource Room in Special Education

Overview

For individuals with disabilities, the resource room is an educational placement option. The resource room provides a broad continuum of service delivery options, strategies, and teaching methods. The pullout, self-contained, and collaboration/consultation models are a few of the available placement options.

The goal of the resource room is to plan, develop, and provide educational strategies that meet the unique and varied learning needs of an individual with a disability. In order to be an educational placement option, the individual must demonstrate an educational disability (i.e., learning disability, autism, hearing impairment, etc.) and found eligible for special education and/or related services. Each state has a system, which is guided by federal requirements, to identify and provide services to individuals with disabilities. Additionally, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) must be developed indicating a need, frequency, and duration of placement in the resource room. The purpose of this paper is to provide general information on the history, definitions, management, physical facilities, and future challenges of the resource room.

Early History

Since man's earliest time, individuals have experienced learning difficulties. Formalized educational services for individuals with learning disabilities did not exist until the nineteenth century. In 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court ended segregated schools in the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education (Fagan & Warden, 1996; Fletcher-Janzen, & Reynolds, 2000). One of the significant issues this ruling set into motion was the matter of the right to education of the handicapped. In 1966, Hobson v. Hansen found that tracking systems were illegal. In terms of special educational services, this case was considered to be a predecessor to mainstreaming and the least restrictive environment (Fletcher-Janzen, & Reynolds, 2000).

The growth of special education and the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act Public Law 94-142 in 1975 reflected the importance society placed on educating individuals with disabilities. P.L. 94-142 has undergone reauthorizations by Congress and is currently referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004). This federal law continues to mandate special education and related services to individuals with disabilities age birth to 21 years.

The civil rights movement advanced the idea that all children, regardless of ability, race, or creed, are allowed a free appropriate public education. As a result of these early court cases and federal laws, the idea of mainstreaming and the provision of educational services in as "normal" an environment as possible led to the development of the resource room. Additionally, the theory of normalization advanced the right to a free appropriate public education by placing children with disabilities in the local public school systems.

What is a Resource Room?

The resource room was originally developed as a way to provide education to individuals who had difficulty learning in the regular educational classroom. The typical resource room is a separate classroom where a teacher certified in special education teaches a child daily for brief periods of time (Blosser & Neidecker, 2002; Fletcher-Janzen, & Reynolds, 2000). The resource teacher also collaborates with the regular education teachers and related service providers and serves as a resource in terms of special learning needs.

Resource rooms can be found nationwide in public schools in grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12). The basic definition of the resource room is a room designed to assist individuals who demonstrate weaknesses in the fundamentals of education. An individual can experience difficulties in the academic areas of reading, writing, and/or math. Additionally, the individual may need assistance in developing cognitive-communication or social skills.

The types of individuals served in the resource room include those with average, above average, or impaired intelligence. In order to receive services in the resource room, the individual must undergo an educational assessment that identifies a need for special educational services. Additionally, the individual must have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The IEP is a legal document that is designed by, but not limited to, personnel such as the resource room teacher, classroom teacher, family, school administrators, and related service providers. The purpose of the document is to formulate detailed plans on how interventions will be provided to the student as well as outline the types and frequency of services, modifications, and additional services needed for the individual to be successful in his or her academic pursuits.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA 2004) provides specific definitions to differentiate the educational environments available for school-age children. There are four basic educational environments available to individuals receiving special educational services. Basically, the environment is related to the amount of time the individual spends in the special education versus regular education classroom.

According to IDEA 2004, individuals with disabilities who attend and are provided with special education and related services in the regular class for 80% or more of the school day are placed in regular education. However, this does not mean that the individual cannot attend the resource room. As long as the individual spends 80% of the school day in regular educational classes with peers, he or she is considered placed in regular education classes.

IDEA 2004 states that individuals who spend 79 percent of the school day in the regular class but no less than 40 percent of the school day in a regular class are placed in resource rooms. These individuals may receive special education and/or related services in the resource room or in the regular classroom.

When receiving special educational services inside the regular classroom for less than 40 percent of the school day, an individual is considered to be in a separate class (IDEA, 2004). Typically, these types of classes are labeled self-contained with limited instruction in the regular classroom with peers.

Types of Resource Rooms

The literature uses similar terms in describing the types of resource rooms used in the public schools. It is noted that different types of resource rooms exist and provide different programming options to meet the educational needs for individuals with diverse learning needs. The resource rooms proposed by Blosser and Neidecker (2002) and Franzman and Redfield (n.d.) will be discussed. The names used by these authors are generic names for the placement options available within the resource room continuum. State educational agencies establish the name or label of the classroom within IDEA 2004 guidelines.

Blosser and Neidecker (2002) describe the types of resource rooms as those which

• Monitor

• Collaborate / Consult

• Pullout

• Self-contained

The resource room may be used on an as needed basis to monitor the progress of the individual who receives all services in the regular education classroom. In the collaboration/consultation resource room, the special education teacher may collaborate or consult with the regular education teacher or related services providers (i.e., speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, vision specialists, etc.) on teaching methods or use of resources.

The pullout model is defined as removing the individual from the regular classroom to receive services (Blosser & Neidecker, 2002). In this model, the student spends a part of the day, as defined on the IEP, in the resource room and the remaining time in the regular classroom. The focus in this model is on content mastery to assist the individual in succeeding in the regular classroom. An advantage to this model is one on one instruction and the development of basic skills that cannot be integrated into the regular classroom (Paul, 2007).

The self-contained classroom is designed to accommodate individuals that have difficulties learning in the regular classroom due to the severity of their disabilities (Blosser & Neidecker, 2002). In this type of classroom, the teacher spends the entire day with a small group of students. The student to teacher ratio varies by state and disability category. The biggest advantage of this type of classroom is that the teacher is able to incorporate programs that focus on specific academic skills.

In comparison to Blosser and Neidecker (2002), Franzman and Redfield (n.d.) described the types of resource rooms as:

• The categorical resource room

• Multicategorical resource room

• Noncategorical resource room

• Needs specific resource room

Additionally, an itinerant resource program is typically found in many rural areas due to the shortage of certified special education teachers and lower student populations.

The categorical resource room typically serves students with one specific type of disability (Franzman & Redfield, n.d.). In this setting, individuals with learning disabilities may attend one resource room where students who are gifted attend another.

The most common type of resource room is the multicategorical resource room in which individuals may have various disabilities but have the same or similar learning deficits. Leyser and Kirk (2006) estimated that 75 percent of individuals with disabilities are enrolled in this type of resource room. That is individuals who are labeled as learning disabled, mild mentally retarded, and behavior disordered may all be working on the same grade level in an academic area. For example, these students may be enrolled in second and third grade level classes yet all work on the first grade level in the area of reading.

Some states do not provide specific categorical resource rooms. Thus, the noncategorical resource room is designed to serve these individuals with disabilities (Franzman & Redfield, n.d.). In these resource rooms, individuals with multiple disabilities may be placed in the same room as an individual with a hearing impairment.

The needs specific resource room is designed to provide services in only one academic area. For example, in this placement option the individuals would only receive instruction to address specific reading, math, or language needs.

Resource rooms served by itinerant resource teachers are rooms where the resource teacher may only be available at the school for certain times or days of the school week. These types of programs often exist in rural areas due to the low number of children receiving services or availability of staff. However, if a child has an educational evaluation and is determined eligible for special educational services then an IEP must be developed. The development of the IEP should reflect the educational needs of the student, not the availability of staff.

The research literature (Blosser & Neidecker, 2002; Fagan, & Warden, 1996; Fletcher-Janzen, & Reynolds, 2000; Paul, 2007; Leyser & Kirk, 2006) demonstrates that the resource room is an educational placement option that is effective in educating individuals with mild or moderate disabilities. As stated earlier, the individual with severe learning difficulties may be better served in a self-contained environment with inclusion into regular classes as appropriate.

Applications

Management of the Resource Room

Due to local, state, and federal mandates, the resource room teacher must have good management skills. The following discusses management strategies used during a typical week or day in the resource room.

Planning for the Week

The resource room teacher must be flexible. In the course of a week, the teacher has to allocate time for direct instruction of students, collaborating with teachers, parents, and related service providers, record keeping, planning for instruction, training for paraprofessionals, and possible travel. A teacher may have to travel between schools due to service delivery demands and funding limitations.

Due to advocacy efforts and the push for inclusive educational services, service delivery options will continue to expand. As such, the resource teacher's role has expanded from solely providing services in the resource room into integrating services into the regular classroom. This adds additional planning and requires executing teaching plans within that environment. Thus, to assist the resource teacher some districts hire paraprofessionals to work within the resource room or classroom. If assigned an aide, the resource room teacher must also train and supervise the aide in the delivery of special education services.

Planning for the Day

One of the first things the resource teacher must do is find out the number of hours the child is in school each day. Once this information is secured, the teacher is required to know recess, lunch, and other schedules (i.e., gym, speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc). The teacher also needs to know the classroom schedules for each grade. For instance, school district policy may mandate that reading, writing, and arithmetic are to be block scheduled for 8:30 to 11:00 am daily. The resource room teacher then needs to decide who should receive services in class who needs to come to the resource room. The teacher must also collaborate with other service providers to make sure that the individual receives the amount of instruction that is agreed upon at the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) meeting.

Finally, the teacher must plan for children who are identified as needing services or those who move into or out of a school and need to be placed in the schedule as well. The resource room teacher must be flexible and a creative problem solver not only for educational instruction, but also in meeting the weekly and daily demands of the school day.

A teacher certified in special education should staff the resource room. A teacher's caseload should be limited to no more than twenty students. In the resource room, it is recommended that the teacher provide individual and/or small group instruction to no more than five students at a time (Fletcher-Janzen, & Reynolds, 2000).

Physical Facilities

Presently there is wide variation in the types of space available for the resource room. This can be due to overcrowding and the variety of and funding for services offered at the school. Some schools are new and have designed dedicated rooms for the resource room. Other schools are older and space has to be created through the use of portable buildings, or by dividing classrooms with permanent or temporary dividers.

The National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities (NCEF) provides a variety of resources for states and international communities on the ideal space requirements for school facilities. A basic summary of the information available suggests that a current recommendation for the resource room is approximately a total of 5600 usable square feet.

However, it must be reiterated that these obstacles should not cause an inadequate working environment for the teacher and students. State and federal guidelines state that the facilities should be appropriate for service delivery. In general, the facilities should be barrier free, comply with safety and health codes, and be appropriate for the delivery of activities required to meet the school's educational goals.

While NCEF provides ideal space requirements, state educational agencies typically stipulate the minimal facility standards. The individual should review the respective state department of education website and review the guidelines. It is also beneficial to ask other districts or principals within a district about these guidelines, as sometimes the information can be affected by interpretation of the intent.

The following suggestions could be used as a guideline for physical facilities. The location needs to be quiet, free from distractions, offer privacy, be accessible for all students, designated for use for the resource students, have adequate lighting and power outlets, meet safety standards, and have heat and air.

The room should be adequately furnished with tables and chairs appropriate for the teacher and a variety of students; have locking file cabinets to protect confidential information such as student records, and shelves for storing materials.

Resources for the room should include assessment and instruction materials for a variety of needs, computer access (if a computer is not located in the room) tape recorders, and expendable materials such as paper, pencils, and teaching materials.

Viewpoints: Future Challenges

The movement toward inclusion leaves uncertainty about the future of the resource room. Educators and school administrators will need to continue to adapt to changes and debates in the delivery of special educational services. Leyser and Kirk (2006) examined the debate that is taking place in education about the need for a continuum of services or the elimination of the continuum in favor of full inclusion for all students.

Leyser and Kirk (2006) found that parents primarily wanted their child with special needs to be educated in an inclusive educational setting. The parents in the study stated that socialization or normalization was the most important benefit of inclusive educational practices. However, in this quest to develop the child's social-emotional skills concerns were raised regarding academic progress, training and education of regular education teachers in meeting the challenges of inclusive practice, and recognizing the potential for decreased expectations for the normal peers in the class. Additionally, parents expressed apprehension about full inclusion and felt that this placement option depended on the individual and his or her disability needs.

Another challenge for teachers in the resource room will be the increasing population shifts and multicultural issues. Teachers will need to be well educated and tolerant of the cultural and social backgrounds of the individuals served. For instance, teachers will need continuing education in research or evidence based educational strategies. Additionally, they will need to possess interpersonal skills to collaborate and consult with a wide variety of professionals and families.

Areas of concern expressed by teachers and families include class size, the variety of disorders served, and available resources. Teachers have expressed concerns of increased paperwork mandated by federal and state guidelines. Funding and accountability remains an issue in terms of being able to provide quality programs.

Funding adequate services will remain a challenge as the special education population continues to grow. Adequately trained personnel, the expansion of multicultural aspects, and children with multiple disabilities will challenge the delivery of services as well.

As inclusion continues to gain momentum, the role of the resource room teacher as a collaborator and consultant will continue to expand. Being a member of a multidisciplinary team will require knowledge and education about assessment, identification, and placement of individuals with disabilities. Teachers will be expected to work closely with classroom teachers, related service personnel, and health professionals in the delivery of services. Additionally, the teacher will need to demonstrate knowledge and competency regarding the social, political, and cultural issues that impact the performance of their roles.

Stress and burnout rates, for the many individuals who provide services to individuals with disabilities, continue to be a concern in retaining and attracting highly qualified teachers. To combat stress and burnout personnel are encouraged to develop strong networks of support and continuing education. Being in a supportive environment or involvement in a supportive network helps to offset the feelings of stress and isolation.

Conclusions

Currently, the resource room remains a dynamic entity that requires collaboration among all stakeholders in order to be successful. As public educational policy continues to be debated, so will the attitudes and beliefs of educators (both special and regular education) and families regarding the resource room. This article provides a general overview of the resource room. It is highly recommended that individuals read IDEA (2004) and become familiar with local and state policy for specific implementation procedures.

Terms & Concepts

Collaborate: Collaborate can be defined as a working relationship in which two or more individuals assume individual and group responsibility to provide solutions to a common problem.

Consult: Consult can be defined as seeking advice or information from an individual or a group to solve a dilemma.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act Public Law 94-142: In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act Public Law 94-142 (P.L. 94-142) was established to provide free appropriate public education to individuals with disabilities. P.L. 94-142 has undergone reauthorizations by Congress and is currently referred to as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).

Individualized Education Plan (IEP): The IEP serves as the "road-map" of the why, when, how, and where of activities and services for the individual with a disability. The IEP is an individualized program for persons, three to 21 years of age, which must be developed for the individual identified as having a disability by a team. The IEP must have key components that communicate the needs of the individual and the services necessary for the individual to participate in the educational environment.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA 2004): IDEA 2004 is a federal law that continues to mandate special education and related services to individuals with disabilities age birth to 21 years.

Itinerant: A resource room teacher who travels from one school to another to provide educational services is considered to be itinerant.

Multicultural: Multicultural is when an individual is strongly influenced by or exhibits distinctiveness of several cultural groups.

Normalization: In terms of the resource room, normalization would involve the idea of making the resource room and its services as close as possible to the regular education classroom. This concept would advance the thought of inclusion and mainstreaming individuals into the regular classroom as appropriate.

Physical Facilities: Space available for the resource room.

Pullout: When an individual is removed from the regular classroom in order to receive educational services they are considered to be "pullout."

Related Service Personnel: Related service personnel include but are not limited to speech-language pathologists and audiologists; psychologists; and physical and occupational therapists. Each of these service providers and their services must be necessary for the individual with a disability to participate in educational programming. Types of services and duration of services must be documented on the IEP.

Related Services: Related services include but are not limited to transportation, counseling, school health services, speech-language pathology etc. that are necessary for the individual with a disability to benefit from special education services.

Resource Room: The resource room is a room designed to assist individuals who demonstrate weaknesses in the fundamentals of education. IDEA 2004 states that individuals who spend 79 percent of the school day in the regular class but no less than 40 percent of the school day in a regular class are placed in resource rooms. These individuals may receive special education and/or related services in the resource room or in the regular classroom.

Self-Contained Classrooms: Self-contained classrooms, in terms of disability, are a classroom in which all the students share similar or the same disability and require a comparable academic curriculum.

Bibliography

Blosser, J. & Neidecker, E. (2002). School programs in speech-language pathology: Organization and service delivery. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Fagan, T. K. & Warden, P. G. (1996). Historical encyclopedia of school psychology. Westport, CT.: Greenwood Press.

Fletcher-Janzen, E. & Reynolds, C. (2000). Encyclopedia of special education. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Franzman, C. & Redfield, T. Placement and services for special education: Resource room. Retrieved July 25, 2007, from University of Evansville http://education.evansville.edu/Cassie%20and%20Tracy/index%201%20page%203.htm

Haydon, T. (2012). Using functional behavior assessment to match task difficulty for a 5th grade student: A case study. Education & Treatment of Children (West Virginia University Press), 35, 459-476. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=76972741&site=ehost-live

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Amendments 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004).

Leyser, Y. & Kirk, R. (2006). Not all riders of the education express debark at the inclusion station. The Exceptional Parent, 36 , 65-68.

National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities (NCEF). (2007). Retrieved July

National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities (NCEF). (2007). Retrieved July 25, 2007, from http://www.edfacilities.org/rl/space_requirements.cfm

Paul, R. (2007). (3rd ed.). Language disorders from infancy through adolescence: Assessment and intervention. St. Louis, Missouri: Mosby.

Vannest, K. J., Hagan-Burke, S., Parker, R. I., & Soares, D. A. (2011). Special education teacher time use in four types of programs. Journal of Educational Research, 104, 219-230. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=61205153&site=ehost-live

Wilson, G., Kim, S., & Michaels, C. A. (2013). Factors associated with where secondary students with disabilities are educated and how they are doing. Journal of Special Education, 47, 148-161. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90521859&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ), Amendments 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004).

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). (n.d.) Retrieved July 25, 2007, from http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/index.html

Tieso, C. (2003). Ability grouping is not just tracking anymore. Roeper Review, 26 , 29-30.

Vaughn, S. & Klingner, J. (1998). Students' perceptions of inclusion and resource room settings. The Journal of Special Education, 32, 79. Retrieved July 26, 2007, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=906088&site=ehost-live