Special Education Policy and its Influence on the Job Market for People With Disabilities
Special education is a major issue that exists within the United States mainly because of the lack of attention it receives. The individuals affected by special education policy in the United States lack sufficient protection in the government. A population as vulnerable as the disabled community deserves to have their rights protected because children with disabilities are often incapable of defending their own rights. It is especially important to address that in the formative years individuals learn to speak up for themselves. However, if an individual does not learn that they are capable of defending themselves how is change ever going to be made?
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“In 1970, U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, and many states had laws excluding certain students, including children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or mentally r******d.” (“Archived: 25 Year History of the IDEA”) Today there are an estimated 6,429,431 students —ages 3-21— receiving special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (“How many students with disabilities are in our school(s)?”) With over 6 million people being helped by these acts it is easy to assume that this is no longer a problem and that we have taken control over the issue at hand. This would be wrong. While many of these students are receiving special education services, this does not necessarily mean they are thriving in their environment they have been placed …show more content…
This is why many people believe that in order to effectively have a quality standard of education for people with disabilities you must begin at the state level. But, in order to effectively maintain a strong standard of special education, we must work to create a strong standard at the federal level and then allow state governments to create even stricter guidelines by which public schools must abide by. If we examine the quality of special education on a state by state basis we can see that states with higher populations—such as New York, California, and Texas— are the ones who ‘need intervention’(“State Ratings in Special Education”). In fact, from 2004-05 all states were considered to have met the standards for special education whereas in the years after that many states dropped in their quality of special education going from a rating of ‘meets requirements’ in 2004 to ‘needs intervention’ in 2011 (“State Ratings in Special
This means that children with all different types of a disability are accessible to public education and learning through professional educators and through their peers. Another important legislation that has been established in 1975 is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that includes all ages of children and their rights to learn. Both of these movements helped shape what special education is today and assisted in bringing inclusion into the classroom. They both made it possible for students with disabilities to be integrated into general education classrooms, while getting the assistance they need as well. These acts are what made it possible into what my field of study is and I intend to push the boundaries of getting my future students in these general education classrooms and making them feel apart of something
Hehir, T. (2009). New directions in special education: Eliminating ableism in policy and practice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
In “Special Education Standards: Supreme Court Raises Level of Benefit” author Joshua Dunn outlines a recent victor for special education standards in America. Dunn begins by describing how, in the Endrew F. v. Douglas County School Districts case, the Supreme Court ruled that students, in public school, with disabilities should have more benefits than some courts had previously ruled. The author then describes how Endrew (Drew) was a child in the Douglas County School District, and as he grew older he began needing special need because of some behavioral problems that began arising. Drew parents were dissatisfied with what his school provided, and they decided to enroll Drew in a private school. Drew’s parents believe that they are entitled
A longstanding national issue that continues to concern the public is the disproportionate representation of children from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in special education. The fact is that the proportion of minority students in the population of school-age children has risen dramatically to over 35%, which is increasing the diversity of students in many public schools throughout the nation. This makes the phenomenon of disproportionality especially troubling. With a growing population of minority children comprising a greater percentage of public school students, we must be responsive to the growing needs of an increasingly diverse society. The overrepresentation of minority students in special education has been posed as an issue for more than 3 decades, but it is worth asking whether the efforts of legislative actions, educational reforms and legal challenges have really made improvements to this issue. More importantly, disproportionality should be examined as a correlation to underlying conditions that can pose a great effect upon not only the quality of a child’s education, but also ______.
This paper analyses the legal aspects influencing education provision in Canada. It focuses primarily on issues concerning learning disability and special education. The case used to analyze the legal aspects is the Jeffrey Moore Vs. British Columbia case that was issued a final ruling by Canada’s Supreme Court in 2012. The ruling serves as a landmark given that it serves a precedent for related cases of learning disability. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jeffrey Moore declaring that education is not “a dispensable luxury” based on the School Act enacted in British Columbia (Supreme Court of Canada, 2012). Hence, Jeffrey should not have been discriminated based on his learning disability from a public school. As shall be seen, the Moore Vs. British Columbia case touches on other facets such as human rights, bias and prohibitive grounds in areas of adequate accommodation.
Did you know that over two thirds of special education students receive services for non-mental health issues, among these students 17% have serious behavior as well as emotional issues compared to over 51% of special education students with mental health issues and 4% of students not in special education (Pastor and Ruben)? My research paper will first explain what Special Education actually is and it will focus on the issues that arise when disciplinary actions are called for and what is to be considered the most appropriate and effective forms of discipline in special education. It will also cover the most common issues that arise in special education as well as what strategies are effectively administered to solve these issues. My research paper will also take an in-depth look into special education students with non-mental health issues. It also will look at some misconceptions of special education students.
Special education is a large part of the education system, which includes the mentally retarded, people with learning disabilities, the emotionally disturbed, hearing impaired, visually impaired, etc. Many people fail to include this system as one that can possibly involve discrimination, but those enrolled in special education has increased among all racial classifications. Between 1980 and 1990, the entire population enlisted in special education has increased. European American increased by 6%, African Americans increased by 13%, Hispanic Americans increased by 53%, and Asian Americans/Pacific Americans increased by 107.8% (Ford, Obiakor, p. 8). In the end, it is these students who ultimately experience low rates of employment, low income, and growing rates of incarceration. Another survey indicates t...
“The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or gender, but people with disabilities were not included under such protection” (Department of Justice). It was not until 1973 when the Rehabilitation Act came to fruition that people were officially by law protected against discrimination on the basis of either mental or physical disability. The Architectural Barriers Act implemented in 1968 helped people with disabilities have access to buildings and facilities by companies, agencies complying with federal standards for physical accessibility. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). This Act allows people with disabilities into public schools and also requires the school to develop (IEP’s) Individualized Education Programs to be developed and fit individualized needs for the student. Another very important piece of legislation is the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in which “prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation and telecommunications services” (A Brief History, p.1).
The large special education student population combined with the administrative and staff turnover has posed a challenge. Ensuring all teachers and staff have the essential knowledgebase is vital, however my current role generates time restraints. EXTERNAL CONTEXT AND POLICY Education leaders influence political, social, economic, legal and cultural contexts affecting education to improve education policies and practices (6A) Understanding and Communicating Policy correlates with action plan. I will inform all members of the current legal mandates established by federal law, as safeguarding student rights is imperative. I will attend IEP and MD meetings to ensure federal mandates are applied to each child’s education pathway.
The main obstacle faced by students with disabilities in the attempt to achieve educational equality is the continuing debate over the In...
During the late 1980’s and 1990’s the number of children with learning disabilities receiving special education services grew rapidly, but during 1998 and 2007 the number of children classified as having a LD has declined by 7% (Cortiella, 2009). “In 2007, 59% of students with LD spent 80% or more of their in-school time in general education classrooms. In 2000, that figure was just 40%” (Cortiella, 2009). In addition, students with disabilities are spending more time with students in traditional classroom settings. According to the Department of Education, “approximately 6 million children (roughly 10 percent of all school-aged children) receive special education services” (Pardini, 2011).
However, it still met with inconsistent criticism due to the myth that “positive intervention” doesn’t work and draining resources of regular courses. However, evidences shown prove the opposite effect. Special education is constant need of more funding – especially when it constantly gets budget cuts from congress and thus, schools are unable to keep up with the afford to provide the necessary need of special education (Wall 2014). So the myth of special education draining resources is the no way the truth. How could they be able to drained resources from other students if the programs themselves are in limited supply? Lack of understanding and easy to become a scapegoat for the blame of overall score of a school being poor is quite easy to pit the blame. Another reasoning is due to socialization—the label of being placed in special education is rather an unfortunate burden that could follow the child (Huerta 2015). Often times, stereotypes are attached and are considered inferior to other students, potentially adding onto potential fears. In order to improve any form of education for special education, funding a provided them resources should be considered the first thing to look
Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face.
Writing this final essay for this course one is able to reflection on the knowledge one has gained since the beginning of the course. This course has been affective and the benefits are using the information immediately to correct mistakes and grow in the profession. After interviewing attorneys and director’s special in the education program the reality of how important following the regulations are important and must be followed. As a special educator one is more prepared and ready to provide a first rate education. Everyone who works with special needs students should be prepared and understand the law taking a class in Law and Litigation is recommended.
“in order for your child to qualify for the services the student must be found to have one of the 13 categories of special education and it must adversely affect their educational performance” (Hancock, 2016). So to get a better understanding of the special education process we have to view it from both sides of the situation, that is, a parent whose child was diagnosed with a disability, and a professional who works with special education for a living. Knowing both sides and their views we can get a better grasp of the whole system and the flaws and strengths that come with the whole process and