Specially Designed Instruction

Specially designed instruction is the instruction provided to a student with a disability who has an IEP in order to help him/her master IEP goals/objectives. Specially designed instruction is not a part of the Response to Intervention (RtI) or Section 504 of the American’s with Disabilities Act processes but is specific to a student who qualifies for special education services in order to help him/her master IEP goals/objectives and ensure access to and progress in the general curriculum.

Specially designed instruction goes beyond differentiated instruction and addresses the unique needs that exist because of a student’s disability. Specially designed instruction should be implemented in addition to, not in place of, differentiated instruction. While differentiated instruction offers all students the opportunity to experience a rich learning environment and to have multiple viewpoints, being an effective teacher only meets a portion of the needs that students with learning disabilities may have. The differentiation of instruction may assist in meeting legal mandates, but it is not a one size fi­ts all approach for students with learning disabilities and must be customized even further to meet the requirements of IDEA 2004. For more information on Specially Designed Instruction visit: Inclusion in Texas

Texas Education Agency (TEA) provides information and resources available to stakeholders for the IEP process, which includes specially designed instruction.