Requirements for SoPA's Special Education Endorsement

EDUC 5500 Assessment and Evaluation of Students with Disabilities
Pre-Requisites: All Methods courses (ECE: EDUC 3801, 3510, and 3911; Secondary: EDUC 5090 or EDUC 5100 or EDUC 5110 or EDUC 5120 or EDUC 5130)
This course introduces educators to the collection and use of comprehensive assessment and evaluation data to ensure the success of students with high incidence disabilities. Educators will analyze frameworks for assessment and evaluation to underscore the sequence, procedures, and decisions involved in a comprehensive process. Topics include collecting data through multiple measures to drive informed decisions about identification, eligibility, IEP creation, services, and instruction; it also targets curriculum resources and intervention strategies with an emphasis on tiered planning and implementation. At the completion of this course, educators will be able to identify, understand, and implement evidence-based practices on data usage with a particular emphasis on using data to design instructional and behavioral interventions necessary for building on individual strengths and addressing the needs of students with disabilities.

EDUC 5510 Collaborative Teaming
Pre-Requisites: All Methods courses (ECE: EDUC 3801, 3510, and 3911; Secondary: EDUC 5090 or EDUC 5100 or EDUC 5110 or EDUC 5120 or EDUC 5130)
This course focuses on the knowledge and skills necessary to form productive, collaborative relationships with families, paraeducators, general educators, building leaders, and service providers to best serve the needs of students. Emphasis is placed on implementing federal and state mandates for special education and related service programs as they relate to building and maintaining relationships with the stakeholders in the education of the student with disabilities and developing effective school programs. Course topics include collaboration in schools, community systems and families, historical perspectives of family life and school involvement, effective relationships between home, school and community, communication among professionals and with families, school-based programs, and multicultural considerations. At the completion of this course, educators will be able to describe, plan for, and implement best practices in team collaboration and communication for the benefit of students.

EDUC 5520 Instructional Practices in Special Education
Pre-Requisites: Assessment and Evaluation of Students with Disabilities, Collaborative Teaming
This course examines various ways of assessing student knowledge and identifying and implementing evidence-based practices to increase the success of students with disabilities in mathematics, social studies, science, and English language arts, primarily in grades 3-12. Tulane students learn best practices for understanding and evaluating curricular demands, monitoring student progress in content-area courses, providing tiered supports and accommodations in teaching, using assessment and grading alternatives, and incorporating the principles of explicit and strategic instruction to design methods that will promote and enhance content-area learning. This course also presents the needs for specialized services to meet specific learning and/or behavioral needs and provides the basic frameworks for conceptualizing best practices, including the principles of Universal Design for Learning and Multi-Tier Systems of Support (MTSS). At the completion of this course, educators will be able to evaluate and design initial instructional accommodations and interventions for meeting the needs of students with high incidence disabilities.

EDUC 5530 Reading and Literacy
Pre-Requisites: Assessment and Evaluation of Students with Disabilities, Collaborative Teaming
This course provides in-depth learning experiences targeting literacy. Educators will learn about assessment tools and assessment systems used in tiered support frameworks to determine the required intensity of literacy support and instruction needed by children/adolescents with high-incidence special education needs. The course also provides evidence-based instructional approaches and effective curricula that have been developed for students with disabilities and students who are struggling in general. At the completion of this course, educators will be able to evaluate and design specialized literacy instruction tailored to the specific strengths and needs of their students.

EDUC 5540 Behavior Support and Intervention
Pre-Requisite: Instructional Practices in Special Education
This course provides a framework for teaching and a problem-solving approach for developing behavioral interventions for both students with disabilities and their typical peers. Tulane students explore strategies for developing pro-social behavior in classrooms and whole-school contexts. They also learn to implement data collection as well as direct observation to assess problem behavior, discover the functions of problem behavior, and explore pro-social alternatives for home, school and community settings. At the completion of this course, educators will be able to discuss, evaluate, and design the appropriate interventions for students requiring additional behavior supports.

EDUC 5550 Self-determination and Transition
Pre-Requisites: Assessment and Evaluation of Students with Disabilities, Collaborative Teaming
This course provides a background in career development and transition education for persons with disabilities from middle school through adulthood. Emphasis is placed on IDEA requirements for transition services, career development, and the transition processes; transition services assessment, secondary special education curricular implications, career development and transition service needs; collaborative services in schools and communities to promote quality transition services; and current issues and trends in transition education and services. At the completion of this course, educators will have a framework for fostering post-secondary success through a student-centered plan focused on the knowledge and skills necessary for successful transition to college, career, and independent living.
Note: This course is part of the required course sequence for the grades 4-8 and 6-12 “mild-moderate add-on special education certification” in the state of Louisiana.

EDUC 5560 Fundamentals of Instructional Technology
Pre-Requisite: Instructional Practices in Special Education
This course provides a problem-solving approach and the framework for supporting instruction with appropriate assistive technology for students with disabilities. In it, Tulane students explore strategies for providing access and opportunity for success with the academic and social aspects of schooling, and learn to progress monitor and adjust appropriate supports to maximize the benefit for students. At the completion of this course, educators will be able to create engaging, effective learning experiences for students with disabilities with the assistance of appropriate instructional technologies.
Note: This course is part of the required course sequence for the “mild-moderate add-on special education certification” in the state of Louisiana.