Required Knowledge and Skills for Teaching

From Teach SSD

There is an established base of knowledge and skills that teachers of students with severe and sensory disabilities are expected to develop. These are known as special education content standards. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) leads the nation in identifying such standards for all special educators. The knowledge and skills expected by beginning teachers varies in relation to the needs of the students they are teaching, however, all are responsible for developing the common core standards. In addition to the common core standards, special educators are trained in areas of specialization. Specialized content standards for beginning special education teachers are accessible at CEC professional standards through the following links visual impairment, deaf and hard of hearing, and significant support needs developmental disabilities. There are also specialized content standards created by CEC for teaching students with physical and health disabilities.

Teachers trained with specialized knowledge and skills can blend these practices with general education curriculums to enable students with severe and sensory disabilities to have access to, participate in, and progress in educational content that parallels that provided to their nondisabled peers. Comprehensive information pertaining to curriculum access and instruction for students with severe and sensory disabilities can be found at CAST: Universal Design for Learning.