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Specially Designed Instruction in Inclusive School Settings  

By Rose Kilmurray, Iris Jacobson, and Paula Volpiansky, Wisconsin DPI

Introduction  
As an administrator, you want to ensure that each and every student gets what they need, when they need it, and in the way they need it to be successful in school. For students entitled to special education services, this includes providing leadership to ensure each student with an IEP receives a free appropriate public education (FAPE) delivered in the least restrictive environment (LRE).  Additional Information related to LRE and FAPE are included at the end of this article. The provision of SDI is central to ensuring students with disabilities receive FAPE and every student with an IEP must receive specially designed instruction. To meet the commitment to provide FAPE in the LRE, you need an understanding of how specially designed instruction (SDI) is situated within your school's multi-level system of support (MLSS).  

SDI is a type of intensive intervention provided within an MLSS to every student with an IEP. When instruction is “specially designed,” the content, methodology, or delivery of the instruction is individually adapted to address the student’s disability-related needs. These instructional adaptations are necessary for the student to access, engage, and make progress in the general education curriculum and meet the standards and expectations that apply to all students of the same age or grade. 

SDI is explicit instruction, directly aligned with one or more of the student’s IEP goals. SDI is intentionally planned, scheduled, and implemented by a properly licensed teacher. It is not a replacement for the general education curriculum. SDI is also different from support embedded in general education instruction, such as accommodations or extra help “as needed”. Such supports are described in the IEP as supplementary aids or services and are not SDI. 

What Administrators Need to Know 
Specially designed instruction is integrated within a school’s MLSS. A student’s IEP goals and services represent only one part of their full educational program. It is important to consider all general education instruction and supports available within the MLSS when determining a student’s Least Restrictive Environment during IEP development. Students with IEPs have the same rights as students without IEPs to access general education curriculum and spaces. Administrators play a critical role in ensuring that students with IEPs have equitable access to the full range of general education curriculum environments and supports. This includes access to Tier I, or universal, core instruction, academic and behavioral interventions, and other general education services and resources. Special education services are intended to supplement, not replace, those foundational supports.

Specially designed instruction is primarily about the design and delivery of instruction, not about the location of instruction. SDI can be provided in general education as well as special education spaces. Even though special educators provide SDI, the presence of a special educator in a classroom does not always mean that SDI is occurring for a particular student. Additionally, every interaction between a student with an IEP and a special education teacher, or every minute spent in a special education room, is not SDI. For example, a student playing a computer game in the resource room while the special education teacher works with others is not SDI for that student. Neither is a special education teacher supporting a student during general education instruction without providing scheduled instruction directly tied to an IEP goal.

Remember, SDI is explicit instruction directly aligned to one or more goals in a student’sIEP. When developing the IEP, the IEP team should deliberately consider how much SDI the student needs to meet the IEP goals. The amount of SDI does not have to be an entire class period. Other supports and services provided to the student are documented in the IEP as supplementary aids and services and related services.

Examples of Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)

SDI Is

  • A service provided to a student.

  • A universal or core curricular program or intervention with supplemental or different teaching methods or activities such as individualized scaffolding, different chunking of content, alternate algorithms, pre-teaching or reteaching content using materials and methods matched to student need, etc.

  • Required (not just beneficial) instruction with set amount, frequency, and duration provided in a specified location as documented on a student’s IEP (e.g., daily, 15-minute mini-lessons on specific math (or other area) content and learning strategies provided before the introduction of a new math concept during general education instruction.)

SDI Is Not

  • A place a student goes, or a teacher a student works with. 

  • A universal curricular program or standard protocol general education intervention implemented without any substantive instructional adaptations for the individual student

  • A “one size fits all’ curricular program based on a student’s label (e.g., there is no such thing as a curriculum used only for students with intellectual disabilities, autism, etc.)

  • Intermittent, “on the fly” or “as needed” instruction


For more examples refer to What is Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) and Who Can Provide It?

Licensure Requirements for School Staff Who Provide Specially Designed Instruction (SDI)
All staff involved in implementing any part of a student’s IEP must be appropriately trained and licensed. In Wisconsin, while any staff may provide supplementary aids and services, only licensed special education teachers, speech-language pathologists, reading teachers, and general education teachers in a co-teaching model as defined by DPI may provide SDI. Administrators will want to carefully analyze special education workload needs and make staffing assignments that maximize flexibility for delivering special education service within an MLSS while ensuring each student receives SDI as described in their IEP.

Resources for Making Specially Designed Instruction Work in Inclusive Settings 
DPI supports the development of inclusive learning communities through the Inclusive Learning Communities program. One of the foundational beliefs of the program is that students belong in their learning communities, in an environment with their peers, and teams of educators are responsible for developing both accessible curriculum and inclusive environments for each and every student within their learning communities. The Inclusive Learning Communities Practice Profile provides a framework to promote and support inclusive school settings and programs. The framework is built around five core competencies: professional collaboration among learner supports; inclusive mindsets; learning culture, climate, and relationships; planning and facilitation, and authentic learner engagement.

There are several other DPI resources and programs that can support inclusive school communities.

  • Coteaching in Wisconsin  Learn about the four core co-teaching competencies: (1) designing physical space and functional structure, (2) planning learning experiences for all learners, (3) delivering targeted, individualized instruction, and (4) assessing student learning and providing feedback.

  • UDL Forward Community   Explore UDL related resources and events, including the UDL Forward Conference, the UDL Implementation Trials, workshops, book studies, and online learning modules.

  • AT Forward  Get acquainted with Wisconsin’s Assistive Technology Resource Map, the AT Forward community of practice and video library, and the Assistive Technology Lending Center.

  • Supporting Neurodiverse Students Professional Learning System  Discover resources that promote the use of evidence-based improvement strategies to support the growth of students with significantly divergent social and emotional learning needs.

Summary 
Administrators play a key role in developing and sustaining school systems that support the social and academic growth of all learners. Within those systems, administrators are responsible for ensuring that school staff implement IEPs as written, including the delivery of SDI. Administrators who understand what SDI is (and is not), who utilize flexible staffing options, and who know how to access additional resources for inclusive education are well positioned to lead effectively in inclusive school settings.

Additional Information

LRE: Least Restrictive Environment
CFR § 300.114 sets forth LRE requirements. The IEP team makes two separate determinations: what the child should be learning and where a child should learn. The intersection of those two determinations is that particular child’s least restrictive environment. One child’s least restrictive environment may be very different from another child’s. The IEP team identifies the LRE for each child based upon the child’s individual needs (Information update bulletin 00.04: Least Restrictive Environment).

FAPE: Free and Appropriate Public Education
A free appropriate public education means special education and related services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, in conformity with an individualized education program (IEP) (see CFR § 300.117). FAPE must be available to all students with disabilities ages 3 through21 enrolled in a public school district, including students with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school (Information update bulletin 18.02: Free Appropriate Public Education).