If a spe. ed child in a req. ed class goes on a 3 day overnight fieldtrip, does the school have provide an aid

Question

3 special ed children with IEP's who are mainstreamed in a regular ed class, are attending a 3-day overnight trip. Does each child get there own aide like they would in the classroon? In one room 3 special ed children have been grouped in the same cabin/room with 5 other regular ed students. In each of the four other rooms, 12 regular ed students have been placed together. Is it wrong to group all of the special ed kids into one room or should they have been divided amoung the other rooms? How many aides should accompany the children? Can they all share one aide? Does the same amount of aide time apply outside of the classroom as inside the classroom?

Answer 1

I worked as a one on one aide while I was in college. The student I worked with wanted to go to the prom. The parents asked me to take her and the school agreed to pay me for my time. However, this was not a requirement that the school be responsible for paying me as this was an extra curricular activity. The school system cannot make the aide attend the field trip and be responsible for that child outside of the regular school day. If the aide decides to attend the 3 day field trip thats great. BUT...it is not a requirement that he/she attends. Also, since I highly doubt that a 3 day field trip is required, I would assume that the parents would probably be responsible for chaperoning their child on the trip. It's actually a touchy subject.

Answer 2

It is all dependant on the IEP, if the child has a full time aide with them at school and that is part of his IEP then yes, if not then they are not required to provided a one-on-one aide. It is all dependent on the kiddos..IEP does stand for INDIVIDUAL Education Plan. Each case is different.

Answer 3

If field trips are mentioned on the IEP as part of the exposure to regular education, then aides would be required. What is in question is whether or not a 1 on 1 assistant is on the IEP. If it is not, then they will not receive a 1 on 1 on the field trip.

I think that if they have fairly severe disabilities, then grouping them makes sense, especially since their are a bunch of regular ed kids sharing the cabin. It does not make sense if they are SLD kids, unless of course they are friends and know each other. Then putting them together is a good thing.

Answer 4

I'm really not for sure, but I don't think that field trips are required so the school system does not have to provide one.  If it is required for a grade, then they must provide the appropriate aides that would be used in a regular classroom.  I would suggest the parents volunteer to go and help out.

Answer 5

Depends on the state and school system rules.  

If there is a safety issue, have the parent or an aide go along.

Also, upon request, the school should provide an in-school alternative to the out of school trip.  (Such as documentaries, reading, writing, regular class, etc.)

It's easier for the inclusion staff (aides) to work together and keep the kids safe if they are all in the same cabin.  The most important thing on a field trip is the safety of all of the kids.  You have not states their 'disability'.  If it is something like autism, each child should have an aide.  If it is minor down syndrome, 2 aides for the 3 kids would work, probably.  

Figure out what is safest for them.  Some kids totally freak when taken away on overnight trips.  It might be best for them to stay at school, with other classwork.

Answer 6

generally, the district is required to provide equal access to all school related activities-including extracurricular activities and field trips-this should be noted in the IEP-

it is rare that a child woud be excluded from an activity by the IEP

assuming this is an educational trip-not just a 'graduation' trip-'

it is conceivable that the district would be required to provide an aid at the level the child normally gets during shool hours-unless an exception is noted in the IEP-

for example-a child with a physical disability would need an aide throughout the field trip-

if it were a child with dyslexia-an aide might not be needed for the trip-but this should be discussed with the child stidy team.

the kids with special needs shold be placed together for logistical reasons-such as wheelchair accessibility/staffing

otherwise it would be more appropriate, but not necessarily required-to ask the children/families if they would like to be kept together (because of their diabilities/if they were friends-they might feel more comfortable together)

From what I am understanding-each child has a 1:1 aid in school.  This suggests to me that they have significant needs and should be afforded the 1:1 aide on the field trip.

They could share 1 aid if it were deemed appropriate by the child study team (including parents)

Answer 7

Depends on the needs of the child or children involved.  For example if the EA primarily assists with academic skills (test reader scribe etc) probably don't need one for an overnight field trip.  If it's a behavior management aid - might need one.  Unless students are severe profound or have significant needs - they would not typically get their own EA anyway.  

I would expect that there might be extra adults or someones parent might be a chaperone.

The extent of EA support is tied to their academic needs so the answer is - maybe.