| New laws and policies promise to make dramatic changes in the field of special education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 address standards for special education students and require that they be included in statewide assessments and accountability systems. While the demands on special education teachers change and grow, the field of teacher preparation has been placed under pressure to respond to these changes (President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, 2002). One area of teacher preparation that has changed is that of certification options for potential teachers. This option is highly touted by the government and by influential national groups as an answer to problems of teacher shortages and to criticisms of inadequate teacher preparation (Dill, 1996; President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, 2002). However, the field has not yet begun to explore how well prepared special education teachers from any certification route are to meet the changing world of practice (Coleman, 2001). This study examined the knowledge of new teachers surrounding changes in special education law and practice through a Web-based survey of alternatively- and traditionally-certified special education teachers in Texas. These teachers were assessed as to their knowledge of three areas related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: content and achievement standards, assessment, and access to the general education curriculum. |
