Special Education Teachers’ Knowledge of Special Education Laws, Processes, and Procedures and their Preparedness to Navigate the Legality of Special Education

This mixed-methods study assessed 32 special education teachers (SET) from western Pennsylvania on their actual knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Furthermore, it explored their awareness of their preparedness and how they express the experiences that have influenced their knowledge. This study separately analyzed descriptive statistics and thematic tags, then converged the data to compare the impact they have on SET in the field. Based on this study, it can be concluded that SET are not at mastery-levels in applying their legal knowledge of special education, and the central feature of IDEA, a free appropriate public education (FAPE), appeared to be where participants understand the least. The results revealed that years of special education teaching experience may positively influence knowledge acquisition, however, this only appeared to be true in participants with over 15 years of on-the-job experience. Many participants were overly confident when describing their degree of readiness, as their knowledge scores were lower than what would be expected based on their explanation. Common themes that were identified are that the SET in this sample feel: prepared or somewhat prepared, many factors influence levels of preparedness, years of teaching is the most valuable experience to enhance knowledge and confidence, preparation programs should offer a course dedicated to special education law in combination with legal process simulations and case law scenarios, school districts should increase professional development on special education law and prioritize auditing Individualized Education Programs (IEP), colleges and school districts should foster mentoring collaborations and hands-on experiences. Preparation program and school district leaders should use the knowledge scores and responses from SET in this study as justification to increase training on special education laws, processes, and procedures and tailor programming so the experiences are more applicable and beneficial.