eJournal 3

I thought after days of researching (and many, many articles printed) that I had learned nothing at all.  I will say I have learned a great deal, but nothing about the demographics of teachers in Texas who teach students who spend >60% of the day in special education (PEIMS 44).  With a number of different class names (Life Skills, Life Class, Functional Academics, Adapted Learning Environment, Moving Toward Independence are just a few I know of), it is difficult to search for this class type.  I had the best luck when using the PEIMS value of 44.  I have learned, at this point in time, the Federal Government has allowed states to determine the student:teacher ratio.  I have learned there are many terms for the statistic I am looking for - class size, caseload, workload and pupil-teacher ratio.  I have learned that Texas has decided to leave this ratio up to districts.  I have learned Region Service Centers across Texas have attempted to help determine a maximum value for special education classes, based on a number of values, including the PEIMS values of the students.  I have learned this is a recommendation, and not a binding value.  I have learned the fact that the state allows districts to determine the class size of students with a high percentage of time spent in special ed, districts do not have to report the value.  So, basically, other than what I have seen, I am unable to truly determine class sizes are getting larger.

Additionally, because all special education teachers are created equal (at least in terms of demographics in Texas), I am not able to gather accurate demographic data concerning age, number of years of experience, number of years in special education, or gender.  I am not 100% sure where to go from here.  If you have ideas, I will run with them.