I wonder how Susan knows that the Special Ed teacher is cheating with the
students?

It sounds as though Susan thinks that having an open book is cheating;
however, I could be misinterpreting what is being said.  
I had no problems with open book tests because, during my first year of
teaching, I decided to focus on learning rather than rote memorization when
I had a class in which almost everyone could write down certain rules for
mathematics but only one could apply the rules.  I tell the students that
they will not be asked any questions that could be answered by copying
sentences from the book.  I ask for applications: work in real life does not
consist of recitation of facts but of obtaining, understanding, and applying
available data.  I tell students that I memorize certain things to save time
and energy; e.g., the multiplication tables up to 12 x 19 and remind them
that, if they know nothing and have to look everything up, they probably
will not have time to pass the test.  The student on an IEP with a longer
timeline for the test has no advantage over other students because the
student on an IEP takes longer to process as a general rule.

In any case, unless the union is ready to spend a lot of money, Susan loses
the battle because the local and district administration is ranged against
her.  No one is perfect, and any teacher subject to close enough scrutiny
for a long enough period of time could eventually be fired for cause.

I believe that the idiomatic English expression is "in times like this." 

Scott Catledge
Professor Emeritus


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