Renay was pushed into professional development recently, and they were looking at a curriculum in use. There is no secret, Renay is not a fan of the curriculum that is currently required to be used, but it is also a starting point when one has nothing, so there are bits she agrees with overall. There are alternatives, but they are also not nearly as comprehensive as other options.
But later in the week, she was in a conversation with a doctoral candidate, and she was asked some questions about a survey she had filled out a month prior. And she had carried through the interview, thinking about the experiences she had had in inclusive education. And she said at one point, “While teachers are thinking about the outcome, general education teachers have the luxury of being in the moment of teaching the subject material and seeing how far down the students are willing to go. Special education teachers are watching for that future expectation for the student, trying to drive further to get the students with a disability to have the most they can with as much as they can.”
And that quote is bouncing around in Renay’s head still, and it bothers her a little bit. It is not that she does not have a love for her students and the things that bring her a smile every day. But the outcomes are what drive education currently, with the focus on data and adjusting to the data.
How do Paraeducators factor into the data?
Paraeducators are collecting data. Both data that is concrete (did a student demonstrate the ability to do something asked of them?) and anecdotal (what has been seen the student do, both good, amusing, and not appropriate). Anecdotal data serves a purpose, a story that demonstrates those beginning stages of readiness. For example, we know a student might have trouble being social with students, but you see that student standing on the edge of the quad looking, and they follow a peer to a familiar location on campus. While it feels routine, and the students never share any direct conversation, the student who waited for a peer is also taking those first steps in trying to make a friendship.
Paraeducators collecting concrete data, number of math problems offered or identifying letter sounds, that data can sometimes be mildly influenced by how you work with a student. Some students wait for someone to show them the answer. However, it is important to know that after a few tries, you do help the student find the correct answer. It is important to let the teachers know when students are showing significant growth, are consistently stagnating, or are not improving at all. The data provides a moment for maybe a specific intervention that the teacher knows how to implement for a student or a group of students.
Data has its place and is the heart of special education services. Paraeducators have a wealth of data for any given student on any given day. We need them to help guide that final push for instruction.
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services
As of October 13, 2025, in the middle of the Federal Government shutdown, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services has been cut. The staff has been removed. Their primary job is to oversee the states and implementation of IDEA (2004). In the United States, over 7.5 million children receive Special Education Services.
Let that sink in for a moment. We have been advocating for 7.5 million children. That number is astronomical. While not every single one of those 7.5 million students needs a paraeducator to help navigate their education, each one of those 7.5 million students has needed a way to connect to education that looks different than the majority of their peers.
We have been advocating for 7.5 million children. That number is astronomical.
ParaEducate
School bells will still ring this week. School buses will still bring the students with disabilities to school. But when we limit the ability for families to see that progress, independence, and social expectations for children with disabilities, we will lose an entire generation of people with disabilities. We have worked so hard in the last 40 years to give individuals with disabilities the lives they deserve for years. Providing them with education in the communities they live in is crucial to their success. Like their general education peers.
But when we limit the ability for families to see that progress, independence, and social expectations for children with disabilities, we will lose an entire generation of people with disabilities. We have worked so hard in the last 40 years to give individuals with disabilities the lives they deserve for years.
ParaEducate
At ParaEducate, we know we would not have had any successes without the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. We know the work that individuals do on behalf of all the students in the country, both with and without disabilities, helps to make our country better.
We sincerely hope that the individuals who were fired are able to return to their jobs when the shutdown is over and that the services they are providing for the country are not interrupted any further than necessary.
In the spirit of many other organizations, please write or call your elected officials and let them know that this shutdown and the removal of this section of the Department of Education cannot be done by any other department of the country.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares its findings at conferences, through its books, and through its academic adaptations.
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