Social Policies In The Film, Freedom Writers (2007)

In the film Freedom Writers (2007), there are two social policies that are depicted through the film. The first policy was the result of Brown vs. Board of Education (1954) the Supreme Court decision that ordered the desegregation of public schools through the United States (US) (Cantor & Zirkel, 2004). Through the Brown vs. Board of Education case, this force schools to voluntary integrate students to schools that are outside their neighborhood boundary. Although the Supreme Court ruling was given in 1954, studies have shown that racial integration and racial justice in education remain largely segregated by race (Cantor & Zirkel, 2004). Still many students of color are disproportionately likely to find themselves in poorly funded schools

Ms. Campbell mentioned it once to Ms. Gruwell, that the students in room 203, were not academically leveled as other students in the school. An assumption can be made that majority of the students in room 203 could possibility have specialized education services. Students who were provided specialized education until 2004 when the Individuals of Disability Education Act (IDEA) passed. Students were segregated in a separate classroom away from their non-disabled peers (Blankenship, 2007). Students were placed with other students who were receiving special education, with a special education teacher that was certified to provide services per student’s needs. Prior to IDEA 2004, students of special education services were treated unfairly as they were unable to obtain an equal access to education. Students in room 203 were never shown to attend other classes within the school. Research has shown that minority students are often identified and provided specialized education services more than their majority

IDEA 2004, placed laws and policies that required for students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to be education in the school and classroom that they would be in if an IEP was not present (Blackenship, 2007). This move called inclusion was meant to not segregate students from their non-disabled peers and be able to integrate them in social settings. IDEA 2004, meant to provide special education students additional rights as a student with special education needs such as additional services, inclusion, and specialized school placement. School placement dependent on if the current neighborhood school the student enrolled in could not provide the student’s IEP services by implementation. Many students with IEPs, were unable to receive their specialized services due to the lack of school resources and supports. Therefore, many students with IEPs in public sectors were then relocated to schools that had funds to allocate more resources or private schools settings. These placements in private schools were all financed by the school district due to their requirement to provide students with special needs appropriate services academically. School placement in private schools gave students with specialized education an upper hand in achieving their IEP goals that may not of been feasible in their current schools. These private placements that were funded by the