What Every Must Know Special Educator - Council for Exceptional ...

To provide opportunities for career ladders in special
education and to encourage practicing special
education professionals to develop advanced areas of
expertise, CEC has been validating and revalidating
knowledge and skill sets for a number of advanced
roles in special education. In addition, CEC has validated
the Advanced Common Core knowledge and
skill set and developed six Content Standards built on
the knowledge and skill sets. A number of other new
advanced role validation studies are in planning or
underway, and the reader is advised to check the CEC
Web site, www.cec.sped.org, for updates.
All the knowledge and skills in the sets are now based
upon documented literature classified into research,
emerging, and practice. The literature is available in
a searchable database at the CEC Web site, www.cec.
sped.org.
In this edition for the first time are Initial Special
Education Content Standards and Advanced Special
Education Content Standards. Both were developed
based on validated Knowledge and Skill Sets.
However, instead of lists of knowledge and skills, the
Content Standards consist of rich narrative content
descriptions that describe initial and advanced role
practice. There are 10 initial content standards and
6 advanced content standards. They are based on,
and written to reflect, the content and contexts of the
validated Knowledge and Skills Sets in each of the
domain areas.
The Content Standards at both levels are the same for
special education preparation programs. Although
program reviews will be done at the Content Standard
level, it is important for faculty to use the Knowledge
and Skill Sets appropriate to the area of specialization
to inform their curriculum development and to
develop their program assessment system. This will
be essential to ensure that the program’s evaluation
system comprehensively addresses each of the 10 or 6
Content Standards.
In the past, CEC had 15 practicum standards. The
new Field Experiences and Clinical Practice Standards are
briefer, focus on the kinds of experiences provided, and
no longer have a requirement for a specific number of
hours or weeks. CEC remains committed to the importance
of practica as an essential part of preparation.
The new Field Experiences and Clinical Practice Standards
require that programs provide appropriate practicum
experiences to ensure that candidates are prepared
xii What EvEry SpECial EduCator MuSt KnoW
Changes in This ediTion
for safe and effective practice. The Assessment System
Standards provide guidance to programs on the key
components of their assessment systems. These nine
standards require programs to build systems that are
comprehensive, standards aligned, multiply measured,
and that collect data used for program improvement.
Section 1 includes the CEC Code of Ethics and
Professional Practice Standards. Central to any profession
is its will to abide by a set of ethical principles and
standards. As professionals serving individuals with
exceptionalities, special educators possess a special
trust endowed by the community. As such, special
educators have a responsibility to be guided by their
professional principles and practice standards. The
Code of Ethics is made up of eight fundamental ethical
premises to which special educators are bound. The
Standards for Professional Practice describe the principles
special educators use in carrying out day-to-day
responsibilities. Special educators use the Professional
Practice Standards to measure each other’s professional
excellence. It is incumbent on all special educators to
use these standards in all aspects of their professional
practice. At the time of the revision of this edition, CEC
is in the active process of revising and updating the
CEC Ethics and Professional Practice Standards. When
completed, the revised Ethics and Practice Standards
will be available on the CEC Web site.
Section 2 analyzes the role of professional standards as
they affect special educators throughout their careers.
from preparation through licensure and induction to
professional development and advanced certification.
This section provides an overview of the work CEC
has done and is doing to ensure that quality standards
guide the practice of special educators at each step of
their career.
Section 3 describes the various CEC standards
and guidelines for special education professional
candidates.
Section 4 provides strategies and tools that different
audiences can use to make the standards accessible.
State personnel will find a chart designed to help
compare state standards and CEC standards. Teacher
educators will find guidance on developing a performance-based
assessment system, as well as a strategy
for use with teacher candidates to help them become
familiar with the standards. Special education teachers
will find guidance and tools for using the CEC
standards to create professional development plans