Goal: Reflect upon and synthesize what you have learned this quarter.
You are a special education teacher in a K-8 school in the Seattle Public School district and leads the inclusion task force for the district. Due to budget cuts as well as limited academic gains for students with disabilities, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI – this is the entity in the State of Washington who allocates funding for general and special education) is cutting multiple support staff and all additional resources to support inclusion efforts across the district. Your school is proud to be a model school for inclusion and this budget cut significantly impacts the supports provided to the students with ASD and significant support needs who are enrolled in your school.
Write a letter to the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal. Within your letter, present a compelling argument for funds that promote inclusive practices for individuals with ASD. Consider the following within your argument:
Prevalence of ASD
Evidence-based interventions across different domains of development for individuals with ASD
Policies about and practices for students with ASD and other disabilities
Why inclusion is important and how it impacts the long term success for students with ASD, peers, families, and society
How you would use the funding in your school (Provide specific examples.)
How the actions and efforts for inclusion is centering the needs of autistic individuals and promoting disability justice.
This should be a formal letter addressed to OSPI (in a formal letter format) and should be between 750-1000 words. Provide citation as necessary; however, this is a letter so your goal is to provide compelling information and an argument for funding to support individuals with ASD rather than present it as an academic paper or simply listing answers to the above prompts. Be sure to reference the grading rubric.