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Paraprofessional (1 to 1 Aide) Information

West Virginia Advocates, Inc. (WVA), the designated protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities in West Virginia, has created this Paraprofessional (1 to 1 Aide) Information to assist you in advocating for appropriate supports your child within the school system.

Here are some suggestions and information about Paraprofessionals (1 to 1 Aides) and your child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP).

  • The IEP must be written in a manner that shows your child requires a Paraprofessional (1 to 1 aide) level of support in order for them to benefit from their education.

    For example, a goal might say:

    • “with hand over hand prompting Susie will…”, or
    • “with adult assistance Johnny will….”

  • There are very clear rules regarding a child’s placement in what is called the least restrictive environment for that child’s needs.

    A school system is to aim for placement in a regular education classroom first, then build the child’s supports (such as a paraprofessional/one-to-one aide) as needed. The school will need to see if the child will be successful before moving the child to a more restrictive classroom setting, such as a self contained classroom.

  • Weaknesses discussed in the Present Levels of Performance (PLEPs) on the IEP should then have Goals developed in the Goal sections of the IEP.

    These could address issues such as:

    • safety concerns that require constant adult supervision, or
    • requires help with toileting, and
    • when carrying out a positive behavior support plan (PBS).

    If the PBS plan has statements such as:

    • “with immediate redirection or prompting Johnny will….” Or
    • “Sally will receive immediate positive reward (from the reward chart) upon completion the targeted task.”

    This will raise the question of who will be there to carry out the behavior plan? (Keep in mind that a PBS plan is developed with the first step being a team meeting, including the parent/guardian to identity target behaviors, and then functional assessment data is taken and then used to develop the PBS plan.) Additional information on PBS is available upon request from WVA.

  • The Services page of the IEP may state that the student needs “constant adult supervision” to carry out his/her IEP.

    The school may elect to use more than one employee to carry out implement the IEP, and in some situations can work effectively.

    However, often parents are not pleased with this option because their child needs the consistency of one well trained individual to provide consistency in all educational environments.

    If your child has multiple staff working with him/her, document when problems arise to provide data that:

    • one or more staff may not be properly trained,
    • staff are not following the IEP,
    • your child shows a loss of skills, or
    • having multiple staff isn’t helping your child progress on education goals.

    Present the data you collect at an IEP meeting as proof that using multiple staff is not working and request a paraprofessional. If the school system still refuses to provide a paraprofessional, request prior written notice (PWN). Once you receive the PWN you can file a state complaint.

Funding

Funding for this publication is provided by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education; Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Health Resources and Services Administration. Published by the West Virginia Advocates (WVA). Content is soley the responsibiliity of WVA and does not reflect the offical views of the funding agencies.

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Alternate Formats of this publication are available on request.

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