Your SDI Questions, Answered: Dr. David Bateman on Specially Designed Instruction

At our Virginia Learn-a-Latte, Dr. David Bateman asked special education leaders a hard question: Beyond the IEP, are we really delivering specially designed instruction?

The questions poured in. Where does SDI go in the IEP? Is co-teaching SDI? How do you get teachers to buy in after years of training?

David answered every one. Here are his answers, organized by topic. New to SDI? Start with our guide, What Is Specially Designed Instruction?

Where Does SDI Go in the IEP?

There is no federal requirement for a separate box labeled "SDI statement." But SDI should be easy to find in the special education services section. The present levels and annual goals should explain why it's needed.

David's test: could someone who has never met the student read the IEP and know what instruction must happen, how it's individualized, and how often?

Weak: Special education support in reading, 30 minutes daily.
Stronger: Explicit, systematic phonics instruction using a structured sequence, guided practice, and corrective feedback.

How Much SDI Language Does an IEP Need?

There's no required word count, and no rule of one statement per goal. The legal standard is whether the IEP adequately describes the services the student needs to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

Length isn't the issue. Clarity is.

"The test I use is whether another qualified teacher could implement the IEP tomorrow without having to guess what the team intended."

Does SDI Have to Connect to an IEP Goal?

SDI addresses the disability-related needs found in the evaluation and present levels. It often lines up directly with annual goals, but federal law doesn't require a separate SDI statement for every goal.

David's alignment test is simple:

Identified need → Measurable goal → Specially designed instruction → Progress monitoring

If those four don't connect, revisit the IEP. And if a student has a decoding goal, the SDI should teach decoding, not just give extra time on reading assignments.

Five Questions Every IEP Team Should Ask

IEP forms push teams to fill in fields: minutes, location, accommodations. Those matter for compliance. They don't tell you what to teach. David recommends a short set of guiding questions alongside your existing form:

1. What specifically can the student do now?
2. What does the student need to learn next?
3. What will we teach differently because of the student's disability-related needs?
4. How will we know the instruction is working?
5. What will we change if the student isn't making enough progress?

"We should not let the IEP form drive the conversation. The student's needs should drive the conversation, and the form should document the team's decisions."

SDI vs. Accommodation vs. Modification

This was the most common confusion. The same tool can land in any category. It depends on how it's used. Take a graphic organizer:

• Accommodation: Removes a barrier. The learning expectation stays the same. The teacher hands the student an organizer to help finish a writing assignment.
• Modification: Changes what the student is expected to learn or show. The student writes one simple sentence while classmates write a paragraph.
• SDI: Adapts content, method, or delivery to teach a skill tied to the student's disability-related need. The teacher explicitly teaches the student to organize ideas and use the organizer independently, with modeling, guided practice, and feedback.

These aren't mutually exclusive. A student can get SDI and accommodations in the same lesson. When you're unsure, ask three questions:

• What disability-related need are we addressing?
• What are we intentionally changing about instruction?
• Are we teaching a skill, providing access, or changing the expectation?

How SDI Fits With Goals, Services, and Accommodations

Each part of the IEP does a different job. Here's one reading example:

• Goal: Increase reading fluency from 65 to 100 correct words per minute on grade-level passages.
• Service: Specialized reading instruction, 30 minutes daily.
• SDI: Explicit modeling, repeated reading, corrective feedback, and systematic fluency practice.
• Accommodation: Extended time on classroom reading assignments.

They should work together, not stand in for each other.

Is SDI Different From General Education Instruction?

Yes. General education instruction serves students broadly. SDI is individualized to a student's disability-related needs (34 C.F.R. § 300.39).

Two things people get wrong:

• A strategy doesn't become SDI just because a special education teacher delivers it.
• Instruction doesn't stop being SDI just because it happens in a general education classroom.

The defining feature is the individualized adaptation. Not the teacher's title. Not the room.

Does Helping a Student Finish Classwork Count?

Not automatically. Helping a student find assignments, stay on task, or finish work can be useful. On its own, it isn't SDI.

If the teacher uses that classwork to explicitly teach a skill, like a writing strategy or a self-regulation routine, it may be.

"Completing work is not the same as learning a skill."

The same goes for incidental benefits. A student may learn from hearing the teacher help a classmate. That's good. It isn't proof the student got the instruction their IEP requires.

SDI in Co-Taught and Inclusion Classrooms

SDI can happen during whole-group lessons, small groups, and independent practice. The key is intentional planning.

In a whole-group writing lesson, one teacher might introduce the assignment while the other models sentence construction for students who need explicit instruction.

"Co-teaching is a service delivery arrangement. It is not, by itself, evidence that SDI occurred."

David recommends three practices for co-teachers: shared planning, clearly assigned instructional responsibilities, and regular review of student data. General education teachers bring content expertise. Special education teachers bring expertise in adapting instruction. Neither should work alone.

If the schedule keeps preventing required SDI, change the schedule. Don't accept the missed instruction.

When Students Have Different IEP Goals

Look for shared instructional needs. Students with different goals often benefit from the same approaches: explicit modeling, guided practice, and frequent feedback. Flexible grouping and stations help.

Grouping doesn't erase the duty to individualize. David suggests a simple planning matrix listing each student's target skill, instructional adaptation, frequency, and progress measure.

When a Student Is Years Behind

Some students are many grade levels behind, and many start to check out. David's answer: they need both grade-level access and intensive skill instruction. Those aren't mutually exclusive.

A high schooler reading at an elementary level can join grade-level history with accommodations while getting intensive, systematic reading instruction. Don't pull students from general education until the gaps close. Don't ignore the gaps either.

SDI in Early Childhood

SDI matters just as much in preschool. It just looks different. Young children learn through play, routines, movement, and interaction.

For a preschooler with a communication disability, SDI might target expressive language during play and classroom routines. It doesn't have to be an isolated, adult-directed lesson. But placing a child in an enriched classroom isn't SDI by itself either.

The central question stays the same: What are we intentionally teaching differently because of this child's disability-related needs?

How to Explain SDI to New Teachers

Start with one question: "What are you doing differently in your instruction because this student has a disability?"

Then three steps:

1. Identify the skill the student needs to learn.
2. Identify what you'll do differently to teach it.
3. Decide how you'll know it's working.

Give new teachers three strong SDI examples and three vague ones. Ask them to explain the difference.

"SDI is not simply more help. It is instruction intentionally adapted to address a student's unique disability-related needs."

For general education teachers, skip the long legal definitions. Use real classroom scenarios. Run a 30-minute interactive session, then coach in actual classrooms.

"We've Trained Over and Over. Teachers Still Say It's Too Much."

This question hit home for a lot of leaders. David's answer was direct: if repeated training hasn't changed practice, more training probably isn't the fix.

"We cannot train our way out of every implementation problem."

The problem may be the system around teachers. Ask them what's in the way. Planning time? Caseloads? Access to data? Materials? Unclear expectations?

Then make five changes:

1. Stop repeating the same training. Shift to job-embedded coaching on real IEPs.
2. Connect the dots. Show how present levels, goals, SDI, and progress monitoring help teachers plan.
3. Cut unnecessary paperwork. Drop tasks that add little instructional value.
4. Give time and resources. Planning time, materials, and collaboration aren't extras.
5. Show it's working. When teachers see students grow because of their changes, buy-in follows.

Reframe present levels, too. "Struggles with reading" tells a teacher nothing. "Reads 45 correct words per minute" tells them where to start.

Training Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals can support SDI. They shouldn't design it or replace qualified teachers. Training should be task-specific: the supervising teacher models the routine, explains the prompts and feedback, observes, and coaches.

Every paraprofessional supporting SDI should be able to answer three questions:

• What skill are we teaching?
• What procedure am I expected to follow?
• When should I check in with the supervising teacher?

Training without ongoing supervision isn't enough.

A Principal's First 30 Days

Skip the building-wide presentation. Start with a small audit. Pull a sample of IEPs and check whether present levels, goals, SDI, schedules, and progress monitoring line up. Then ask teachers how the SDI is actually delivered.

Focus on three things: clarity of the IEP, whether it's feasible to implement, and evidence of student progress.

"Principals do not need to become experts in every instructional intervention. They do need to establish systems that make effective SDI possible."

For administrators more broadly: treat SDI as instructional leadership, not a compliance task. Protect planning time. Use supportive walkthroughs instead of compliance warnings. The message to teachers: "We are responsible for making this work, and we will provide the support necessary to help you implement it."

Advocating When Leaders Don't Understand SDI

Frame concerns around the student and the IEP, not around what administrators don't know. Name the specific gap. For example:

"The student's IEP requires daily explicit reading instruction. Our current schedule provides only general classroom assistance during that period. We need to determine how the required instruction will be delivered."

Document the concern, cite the IEP requirement, explain what it means for instruction, and bring a proposed solution. If it continues, use your district's established procedures.

Resources for Coaching

David recommends:

• IRIS Center at Vanderbilt University modules on explicit instruction and high-leverage practices
• High-Leverage Practices from CEC and the CEEDAR Center
• Virginia's Training and Technical Assistance Centers (T/TAC)

Pair them with a simple coaching cycle: identify a need, plan an adaptation, teach it, collect evidence, and review with a coach. Coaches should watch what instruction actually happens, not just check the paperwork for the right terms.

Frequently Asked Questions About SDI

Where should SDI be documented in the IEP?

In the special education services section, with enough detail that someone unfamiliar with the student knows what instruction must happen, how it's individualized, and how often. Federal law doesn't require a separate "SDI statement" box.

Does every IEP goal need its own SDI statement?

No. There's no required number of SDI statements per goal. SDI should address the student's disability-related needs and usually aligns with the goals: need, goal, SDI, progress monitoring.

What's the difference between SDI and an accommodation?

An accommodation removes a barrier without changing what the student is expected to learn. SDI adapts the content, method, or delivery of instruction to teach a skill tied to the student's disability-related needs.

Can SDI happen in a general education classroom?

Yes. SDI is defined by the individualized adaptation, not the setting or the teacher's title. It can happen in whole-group, small-group, or independent practice with intentional planning.

Is co-teaching considered SDI?

Not by itself. Co-teaching is a way of delivering services. SDI happens when the co-teachers plan and deliver individualized instruction that addresses the student's needs.

Can paraprofessionals deliver SDI?

Trained and supervised paraprofessionals can assist with SDI under IDEA, consistent with state rules. They shouldn't design specialized instruction or replace qualified teachers.

Get the Free SDI Toolkit

David's special education toolkit includes a short SDI self-check for IEP reviews and a guide for general education teachers. Share it with your building leaders.

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