The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which is a supersession of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 is a federal law which requires states and their school districts to provide individuals with disabilities a free and appropriate education. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. US Department Of Education (n.d.) The population that IDEA intends to effect is children between the ages of three and twenty one years of age who have a specific disability that has an adverse effect on the student’s performance. Children who qualify under IDEA are provided with services and accommodations individualized to meet their needs. IDEA entitles all children suspected of having some form of disability to an evaluation by a team and at no cost to the parents or guardians. If the child is determined to need special education and related services, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed based on each child’s specific needs which are decided by both team and parents/guardians. Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2008) Once covered under an IEP, the students with disabilities are re-evaluated at least every three years and their IEP’s is reviewed when a change in place occurs. This is most often annually as they go from grade to grade. IDEA recognizes autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, other health impairment (i.e., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury and visual impairment. An evaluation for services under I... ... middle of paper ... ...EA: Policy Solutions to Improve US Special Education. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.brookings.edu/ DiNitto, D. M. (2011). Social Welfare: Politics and Public Policy (7th ed.). : Allyn & Bacon. Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2008). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://www.sage-ereference.com/educationalpsychology/Article_n139.html Lloyd, PhD, C. M., & Rosman, PhD, E. (2005). Infants and Young Children. Exploring Mental Health Outcomes for Low-income Mothers of Children with Special Needs: Implications for Policy and Practice, 18(3), 186-199. National Association of Social Workers (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/default.asp US Department Of Education (n.d.). Building the Legacy of IDEA. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://idea.ed.gov
One such policy is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, or IDEA; IDEA sets guidelines and standards for educational services. The services included under IDEA are eligibility tests, appropriate education, individual education plans (IEP), and least restrictive environments (LRE). IEPs are specialized and unique plans that cater to the child's individual needs. Meanwhile, LRE refers to the standard that the learning environment for disabled children is of equal quality and as similar to the classrooms of neurotypical individuals as possible (Santrock, 2017, pg.282). In addition, IDEA also enrolls children into early-intervention programs which helps students transition into appropriate programs. Furthermore, it also ensures that all special education teachers are qualified, and that students with disabilities are not disproportionately suspended or expelled from school in comparison to their neurotypical peers (The History of Special Education,
Parents play a critical role in the planning of educational programs for their children. In efforts to increase parental involvement, instructions were added to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that mandated active parental participation during the preparation of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). According to Lo (2008), when IDEA was reauthorized in 2004, additional parental rights were added that required the attendance of parents and every member of an IEP Team, unless both the parent and school agree to an absence and document that agreement in writing. That mandate emphasizes the importance of parental participation in educational programming for their children.
In 1991 the Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was replaced by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law was passed to provide free and appropriate public education to every child with a disability. It requires that each child with a disability “have access to the program best suited to that child’s special needs which is as close as possible to a normal child’s educational program” (Martin, 1978). The Individualized education program (IEP) was developed to help provide a written record of students’ needs and procedures for each child that receives special education services. The IEP will list all the services to be provided, the student's performance level, academic performance, and modifications in place for the student.
Dolgoff, R. & Feldstein, D. (2003). Understanding social welfare (7th ed). New York, Allen & Bacon
National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (1998). The New NASW Code of Ethics Can Be Your Ally: Part I. Retrieved from: http://www.naswma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=96
IEP Development. In developing the IEP, the team should determine the child’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance and project whether any additions or modifications to the instruction or services are necessary to enable the child to meet measurable annual goals and to participate, as appropriate, in the general education curriculum. IDEA requires that the team considers the student’s strengths; parents’ concerns; evaluation results; and academic, functional, and developmental needs of the student. The IEP team must also consider individual circumstances. One special consideration is whether the student’s behavior impedes that student’s learning or the learning of other students. If so, the IEP team must consider the use of positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS), and other strategies, to address the behavior.
The child with a learning disability is entitled under IDEA to receive the same quality of education and other services which are entitled to students without disabilities. The law states that the facilities for both kinds of students must be comparable and the necessary training materials and the appropriate equipment to impart the education must be provided to the student (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), n.d.).
Prior to 1975, educational options for a child living with a mental or physical disability were limited. The family of the handicapped child was most likely forced down an path that lead to the institutionalization of the child and distancing the child from the benefits of receiving a free and public education. It was after federal legislation passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. § 1983) that monumental changes began to develop that allowed a better understanding of the needs and capabilities of people with various handicapping conditions. Soon after this legislation, Public Law 94-142, also known as the Education for all Handicapped Children’s Act of 1975 (EHA) would further increase the public awareness by providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children suffering from disabilities. Following the EHA legislation reformations concerning the education of disabled individuals would soon become numerous and legislative acts were passed enabling accommodations for disabled individuals in the fields of vocations and technology. In 1990, President Gerald Ford signed legislation replacing P.L. 94-142 with the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA, 20 USC 1400). By definition, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation (US Department of Education, 2011).
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington DC: Author.
The Individuals with Disabilities Act, 2004 (IDEA), has 14 different categories of disabilities (IDEA Partnership, 2012). Students with disabilities can be placed into two more distinct groups which are high incidence disabilities or HID and low incidence disabilities or LID. IDEA defines low incidence disabilities as those students with visual, hearing or significant cognitive impairment (Outcome Data, 2006). These students need personal that are highly trained in specialized skill and knowledge to provide early interventions and education. Those with LID account for less than one percent of the school population (Outcome Data, 2006). Students that fall into this category are usually educated outside of the general education classroom for part of the school day.
National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: Author.
Public Law 94-142: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), requires states to provide free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for every child regardless of disability. This federal law was the first to clearly define the rights of disabled children to receive special education services if their disability affects their educational performance. A parent of a special education student also has basic rights under IDEA including the right to have their child evaluated by the school district and to be included when the school district meets about the child or makes decisions about his or her education. If a child is identified as in need of special education services, the school district must devise a written individual education program (IEP) for the child, which includes related services. An IEP is a statement of a student’s special education and related services including speech services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, counseling and assistive technology and transportation. In addition, this legally binding, individualized plan outlines reasonable educational goals for the student and is reviewed and updated yearly.
All social workers are beholden to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. Professional ethics are the main core of social work. The profession has an obligation to articulate its basic values, ethical principles, and ethical standards. The code is composed of thematic sections that outline a social worker’s responsibility to clients, colleagues, employers, and the profession. Some responsibilities that a social worker has to a client are that the clients are their primary responsibility, fostering maximum self-determination in clients, respecting the privacy of clients, keeping information that has been shared during the course of their duties confidential and charging fees for services that are fair and considerate
National Association of Social Workers. (2016). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers Retrieved
The right to have access to education is a concern for people with disabilities. They were treated poorly and often desegregated from society. The response to the concerns of parents and educators over the exclusion of children with disabilities created the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The public law “guaranteed a free, appropriate public education to each child with a disability in every state and locality across the country”. In the 1970's children with disabilities entered schools and over the years, the number of students in special education has grown dramatically, from 4.3 million students in 1990 to 6.9 million students in 2003 (The Council of Chief State School Officers , 2007).