7 Best Practices in Special Education That Improve Student Learning

While significant strides have been made in special education, it is still in its early stages of construction. We have laid the foundation (laws, IEPs, specialized classrooms), but without the walls of inclusive practice or a roof of culturally responsive teaching, it remains incomplete.

Teachers want to support every learner, but they often lack the training or time. Parents push for services, but they often face bureaucratic hurdles. Meanwhile, students are left feeling excluded from classrooms that were never fully designed for them.

The entire process leaves everyone frustrated—but there is hope.

To move from this half-built structure to a school system that feels like home for every learner, we simply need to implement strategies grounded in research and reality. This blog outlines seven best practices in special education that can help build classrooms of belonging and growth. You will also see how the special education credential at Alliant prepares future educators to turn these practices into impact.

Program Overview

What Makes a Practice “Best” in Special Education?

In special education, the phrase ‘best practice’ is often used, but what does it actually mean? What does a special education teacher do to implement it effectively?

• A best practice is data-informed. This means backed by robust evidence showing positive outcomes for students with similar needs. For example, explicit phonics instruction is considered a best practice for students with reading disabilities because it’s backed by decades of research.¹
• A best practice is aligned with the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). If a strategy is not directly supporting an IEP goal, it risks becoming busywork.
• A best practice is adaptable. Even evidence-based practices can fail in real classrooms if they’re applied rigidly.
• A best practice is student-centered. A simple example is using person-first or identity-first language to refer to students based on their preferred identity.
• A best practice must be legally compliant with federal, state, and district mandates. These can include the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.² By following legal mandates, best practices uphold students’ rights.

7 Best Practices in Special Education That Work

With the following seven evidence-based practices, special educators can foster tangible student growth and development.

#1 Build Lessons Around IEP Goals and Progress Monitoring

In special education, lessons cannot simply follow a textbook sequence. They must start with a student’s IEP goals. As an example, if a student’s IEP reading goal focuses on decoding multisyllabic words, a generic fluency lesson will fall short.

Special education teachers use tools such as goal tracking sheets and data binders to document daily IEP progress. This data helps them reflect on and adjust instructional plans as needed.

Similarly, at Alliant, dedicated modules in the special education coursework help future teachers design IEP-based lessons and study data to plan next steps. These skills are foundational for anyone exploring how to become a special education teacher.

#2 Use Differentiated and Multi-Sensory Instruction

Special education classrooms thrive on differentiation, as no two learners absorb information in the same way. For this reason, effective teachers offer multiple pathways:

• Visuals for students with language processing needs
• Manipulatives for tactile learners
• Movement-based tasks to embed concepts kinesthetically
• Assistive technology, such as text-to-speech apps for students with reading disabilities.

At Alliant, candidates design differentiated lessons after observing veteran teachers and receive direct feedback on how effectively their plans meet students' diverse needs. These are foundational special education strategies that help future teachers support every learner.

#3 Collaborate Across Teams for Student Success

Special education students thrive when their teachers, therapists, administrators, and families work as a unified team. When every adult around a student understands the plan and their role in it, the student can receive consistent, effective support.

Additionally, research shows that involving parents in planning for children with special educational needs (SEN) significantly boosts family satisfaction compared to planning done by educators alone.³

Students at Alliant are trained to lead such collaborations. They may learn how to honor family voices while ensuring that general education teachers are on board with implementing accommodations in their classrooms, an essential component of success in different careers in special education.

#4 Embed Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)

Behavior is not simply something to manage. It is a form of communication. PBIS shifts the mindset from punishing behaviors to proactively teaching expectations and self-regulation.

In practice, PBIS can look like:

• Explicitly teaching classroom routines.
• Praising positive behaviors more than correcting negatives.⁴
• Using visual behavior charts to help students track their own growth.

At Alliant, future special educators may observe PBS in action during fieldwork and learn approaches that build trust, rather than fear, between teachers and students. These behavioral frameworks also influence different types of special education classrooms, each of which may require a unique application of best practices.

#5 Create Structured, Inclusive Classrooms

Structure is often the safety net students need to take risks in learning. For students with disabilities, especially those with autism, predictable routines can help reduce anxiety, paving the way for growth.

By utilizing the following, educators can help students know what to expect from each day, as well as what is expected of them:

• Visual schedules on the wall
• Clear transitions between activities
• Designated calm corners

Inclusive classrooms are also designed with trauma-informed practices in mind, recognizing that behavior often reflects unmet needs or past experiences. At Alliant, candidates explore how trauma shapes brain development and relationships, learning to create spaces where students feel physically and emotionally safe.

#6 Integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles

A special educator with training in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) asks: How can I design this lesson so every student has a way in? In other words, they plan multiple entry points from the start.

Here are a few examples of what that might look like in practice:

• When teaching a social studies concept, students could read a book or watch a captioned video.
• When demonstrating their mastery of a concept, students may write an essay, record an audio note, or create a visual timeline. This approach also enriches the learning experience for the entire class.

The coursework at Alliant embeds UDL frameworks into lesson planning practices, enabling graduates to identify hidden barriers in assignments and redesign them proactively as needed.

#7 Leverage Assistive Technology to Maximize Access

Assistive technology is helping to level the playing field for students with disabilities.

• For students with dysgraphia, speech-to-text software can make writing a more enjoyable experience.⁵
• For students with low vision, audiobooks make literature more accessible.
• For students with executive functioning challenges, visual organizers, such as graphic mapping apps, can make tasks more manageable.

But effective assistive tech use is never just about handing a student a device. It requires careful evaluation: Does this tool match the student’s IEP goals? Will it build independence or create reliance?

For instance, a student learning to decode may benefit more from guided reading strategies alongside text-to-speech than from replacing reading altogether.

How Best Practices Align with Legal and Ethical Standards

Best practices in special education are not just a “nice-to-have.” As mentioned previously, they are fundamental to meeting the legal and ethical obligations every educator holds toward their students.

• Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), students with disabilities are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). This means education tailored for them, at no cost to families, to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. The best practices we discussed earlier in the blog directly support FAPE.
• Similarly, the principle of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) mandates that students with disabilities be educated alongside their non-disabled peers to the "maximum extent appropriate."⁶  When put into practice, this ensures that differentiated instruction and teamwork break down barriers, allowing students to stay in the classroom instead of being pushed out of it.
• Ethically, teachers must go beyond compliance. While approaches such as trauma-informed practice are not explicitly mandated, they are deeply ethical responses to the realities students face. They create classrooms where students feel safe enough to learn.

How Alliant Prepares You to Apply These Best Practices

The CTC-accredited special education teaching credential program offered by Alliant was designed with these legal, ethical, and human needs in mind.

• The program relies heavily on fieldwork to teach core concepts. Under the supervision of experienced educators, you will support students in grades K–12 with mild to moderate needs.
• Coursework connects directly to what you will do daily as a special educator. In particular, you can master goal-setting in IEPs, ensuring they are measurable and achievable.
• Crucially, Alliant teaches cultural humility across every course. You may find yourself reflecting on unconscious biases and how they shape your expectations of students.

If you are ready to become an educator who leads with empathy, the special education teaching credential at Alliant can help you get started.

Explore The Program

Your Next Step: Mastering Best Practices in Special Education

Best practices in special education allow educators to foster independence and growth for students who have been told “no” far too often.

Every student deserves a teacher who sees beyond their challenges to their potential, someone who refuses to let disability define what is possible in their classroom. This work requires an understanding of the lived realities of diverse learners and research-based strategies.

If you have decided to pursue a career in special education, Alliant can help you confidently take on the role and its requirements. Explore the course today and take the next step toward building an educational system that works for every child.

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Sources:

1. Hanna Lindström‐Sandahl, Åsa Elwér, Stefan Samuelsson, and Henrik Danielsson. “Effects of a phonics intervention in a randomized controlled study in Swedish second‐grade students at risk of reading difficulties.” Dyslexia. September 12, 2023. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dys.1751. Accessed July 31, 2025.
2. Kyrie E. Dragoo, Abigail A. Graber. "The Rights of Students with Disabilities Under the IDEA, Section 504, and the ADA". Library of Congress. May 17, 2024. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48068. Accessed July 31, 2025.
3. Ariane Paccaud, Roger Keller, Reto Luder, Giuliana Pastore, and André Kunz.  “Satisfaction with the collaboration between families and schools – the parent’s view.” Frontiers in Education. April 01, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.646878. Accessed July 31, 2025.
4. Gwendolyn Lawson, Julie Sarno Owens, David S. Mandell, Samantha Tavlin, Steven Rufe, Amy So, and Thomas J. Power. “Barriers and facilitators to teachers’ use of behavioral classroom interventions.” School Mental Health. May 26, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-022-09524-3. Accessed July 31, 2025.
5. Marianne Engen Matre and David Lansing Cameron. “A scoping review on the use of speech-to-text technology for adolescents with learning difficulties in secondary education.” Disability and Rehabilitation Assistive Technology. November 25, 2022.  https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2022.2149865. Accessed July 31, 2025.
6. Casey Radostitz, Vivien Chen, Francisco Santamarina. "Performance Audit of Special Education: Service Delivery and Access". Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, Washington State. January 22, 2025. https://leg.wa.gov/jlarc/reports/2024/SPED/f_01/defaultpart1.html. Accessed July 31, 2025.