Description
I included the Literature (The Choice Act). You can also find the 5 step reasoning process in the literature. This assignment has two parts. A letter and a 3 1/2-5 page paper.
Assignment: Advocating for Policy Change
The media piece, Advocacy, policy and law: Advocating through policy, affirms that an advocacy position grounded in relevant, current research contributes greatly to the success of an advocacy plan. Additionally, it contributes to your informed influence as a participant in the policy process. In addition to having a professional knowledge that informs your advocacy position, the Rallis et al. reading emphasizes the importance of aligning your intuition, values, and morals to an advocacy cause. The ability to articulate your advocacy position from both research-based and passionate perspectives is important to your credibility as a special education leader and to the success of your advocacy efforts.
The assignment in this module is an opportunity for you to identify and examine a current special education policy issue involving diversity and special needs, as well as starting to think about how you would advocate for a policy solution to address the issue. Through a structured examination of the policy issue and your intuition, values, and morals regarding the policy issue, you will craft a personally and professionally appropriate letter advocating for or against your identified educational or special educational policy issue.
To prepare:
·Review the excerpt from Rallis, S. F., Rossman, G.B., Cobb, C. D., Reagan, T. G., & Kuntz, A. (2008). Keep the 5-step reasoning process in mind as you complete the next bullet (I included the literature that was given. I also sent you a screen shot of the references if you want to look up other information).
·Apply this reasoning process in mind as you research proposed educational or SPED policies in current or past legislation. If possible, look for policies that would relate to the case study videos (Jamal) (i.e. cultural diversity, behavior intervention, etc.) you have viewed thus far in your program.
·Research the name and contact information for your local and state representatives (I included the websites just in case you needed it).
Complete the following steps for this assignment:
Step 1: Consider the following questions prior to drafting your letter to your representatives (be sure to include the answers to these questions in your letter):
·What is the problem or issue that interests you?
·What data is available to support the existence of the problem or issue?
·What Education Policy Planning and Research Community (EPPRC) sources are involved in defining the policy issue?
·What are the values or ideology evident in the policy issue you have chosen to examine? Include at least one citation that supports your assumption.
·Who are the proponents and opponents of the proposed policy and why?
·What evidence exists that demonstrates the policy issue has reached an agenda?
·How you can use Rallis et al. 5-step reasoning process to inform your position on this policy issue?
Step 2: Draft a letter to your local and state representatives advocating for or against your identified educational or special educational policy. Be sure to include the information prompted by the questions in Step 1 of this assignment.
Step 3: Reflect
·Write a brief 3 1/2- to 5-page overview of how each element of the 5-step reasoning process guided you in the selection of your policy issue and drafting the letter. Summarize what you learned from this assignment that you can apply to your professional role as a Special Education leader.
Websites
United States House of Representatives. (n.d.). Find your Representative. Retrieved from http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
USA.gov. (2015). Government agencies and elected officials. Retrieved from http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
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Explanation & Answer
Kindly find attached the document. In case of any edits, please let me know. Otherwise, it is a pleasure to have you as my buddy now and in the future. Until the next invite, BYE!
Running Head: SOCIAL SCIENCE LETTER
1
Social Science Letter
Name
Institution
Date
SOCIAL SCIENCE LETTER
2
Social Science Letter
Special Education Policy Issue
Name of State Representative
The State Representative
(Name of the state)
4/10/2021
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: Twice-Exceptional Students as a Special Education Policy Issue
Teachers face numerous challenges in their journey to delivering positive educational
outcomes. one of the challenges teachers face is the provision of grade-appropriate material,
especially about special needs students. While the focus is mostly on special needs students who
may be grade level, there is also another special needs student. These are the twice-exceptional
students who refer to highly gifted students but also have special educational needs such as
ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities, among others (Josephson et al., 2017). For these
students, it is easy for their giftedness to mask their special needs leading to their labeling as lazy
or underperforming when they do not reach the expected standards.
Statistics note that only about 6 percent of the students in special education are twiceexceptional. This is a low statistic given that more than twice-exceptional students make up the
student population in the U.S. This then brings to light the problems that have led to the low
numbers. One of the problems is the identification of twice-exceptional students, an
understanding of the challenges which they face, and also implementation of strategies that
would help in their support for positive educational outcomes.
SOCIAL SCIENCE LETTER
3
There have been numerous journal articles, educational organizations, and statistics that
have helped define this policy issue. The National Association for Gifted Children, for instance,
gives information on the challenges that these children face that hinder their positive educational
outcomes. It also gives recommendations on what parents and teachers can do to support. The
ERIC journal, which is sponsored by educational sciences, also has numerous peer-reviewed
journal articles on gifted and twice educational students from the link here
https://eric.ed.gov/?q=twice+exceptional. One of the values that are evident in the policy issue
selected for examination here is equality. There is the belief that twice-exceptional students are
as important to the community as the 'normal' students (Pereira et al., 2015). They should receive
the proper interventions to ensure that there is the maximization of the potential that they hold.
The proponents of the proposed policy for implementing strategies that would help in
twice-exceptional students' support for positive educational outcomes include teachers and the
parents for these children. The opponents of the proposed policy are the state officials because
this would mean an increase in special education spending. However, the positive outcomes set
to come from the implementation of this policy outweigh the costs. Agenda building is the first
stage of the policy process. This particular problem has reached the agenda stage as numerous
children are dropping out of school for being labeled underachievers while, in the true sense,
they are only twice-exceptional students (National Education Association, 2006). This is
detrimental to the educational outcomes of the children and the state in general.
All these elements point to the need for a spe...
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