Advocacy
It is important that the public become aware of the needs of students with disabilities, including the range of services required for the wide variety of disabilities served by special education, the cost of these services and the pay-off of this investment. Yes, it may seem like we are advocating for ourselves, but by making the public at-large aware of the current issues, they can assist in improving the outcomes and life success of students with disabilities.
The problem with advocacy is that no matter where this occurs or how good your public relations is (see Chapter 11, Public Relations and Marketing Considerations for more information on this), there will be unhappy people. Political strategists refer to these people as CAVE people where the acronym stands for Canalso a drain on the educational budget of the dice to make everyone happy, but there will be people who will say we are spending too much money on students (special education) who may not be tax paying citizens in the future. However, we will need to continue to advocate for what our educational system was developed for providing educational opportunity to all citizens.
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One can do an Internet search and obtain a lot of information about special education and students with disabilities and special education, but is often left unsure of the slant or bias of the writer of the information. CASE and CEC have already sifted through the information, monitor legislation and regulation changes in Washington, DC, and keep their members informed about the latest developments. You can trust the information from CASE and CEC. Make sure you are a member of CASE and CEC and participate in their conferences and other
... of educating schools and faculty of proper handling of students with disabilities. This shows relevance of the issue on a larger scale currently by the push starting to be made on educating counselors in other areas too.
In the Evan v. Board of Education of Rhinebeck Central school district, the mother of the child Frank Evans, Catherine Evans filed a case for the reimbursement of the child’s education at the Kildonan School. The Kildonan School, which specializes in special education for children with learning disabilities like dyslexia. The basis for her case is that the school did not provide her son with the appropriate education, as is required for children with learning disabilities under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Wrightslaw - Caselaw - Evans v. Rhinebeck (S.D. NY 1996), n.d.).
Elizabeth is a first-grader who has an intellectual disability called mental retardation; Elizabeth’s school has in place an IEP that includes her going to the special education room; where she receives highly structured reading instruction from Ms. Hackman, her special education teacher. In order to meet her least restrictive environment, Elizabeth is placed in a first grade class that is an inclusive classroom, which means that she has access to the general education curriculum as evidenced by her spending the majority of the school day in Ms. Clark’s general education classroom. She is provided assistance in her development in her speech because she is unable to talk in complete sentences; so she does receive related services including a
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.
Disproportionate identification of minority students in special education is a major concern in schools today. This paper describes the issues in the assessment process with minority students and how we have arrived at a situation where minorities are being misdiagnosed into special education programs. Additionally, several legal cases are mentioned which show numerous actions and rulings that have tried to correct the disproportionate identification in special education. Some of the legal cases discussed include Larry P. v Riles, Diana v. State Board of Education, and Guadalupe v. Tempe Elementary School, which all significantly impacted special education today. Additionally, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act has enforced that minority groups must receive an equal education in the least restrictive environment possible. It is our duty as teachers and citizens to abide by these laws and find different ways to assess and correct the disproportionality of minority groups that exists today.
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.
The Legal Foundations of Special Education: A Practical Guide for Every Teacher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2006. Print.
From my experience, advocacy is the best way to provide the best educational experiences for all. The suggestions Ende makes in the article are more than appropriate and would affect the current education system in the United States in the most positive ways possible. The three solutions included in Ende’s article include: “Make sessions on policy practical, Encourage collaboration, [and] Allow policy and practice to meet” (2017). By instilling these practices into the field, reform will begin and learners will no longer be suffering from the archaic and nonsensical policies that are in currently being utilized. When transformed, the educational system should allow for teachers and other professionals to develop strategies that support and advocate for students and families. To do so, individuals
The education system is arguably the most beneficial system in the world; however, it also contains many controversial practices. Proper funding, discrimination, and curriculum are just some of the problems in today’s education system. Everyone has a different opinion about what is best for our children and it is impossible to please everyone. As long as the educational system is in tact, then there will be confusion and debate within the system and its’ administrators. The only thing that can be done is attempting to make it so that everyone will benefit equally, but this is much more difficult than one would assume. I will focus on the aspect of discrimination on minorities within special education and more specifically the following questions: Does the special education system discriminate against minorities? If so, how? What can be done, if anything, to correct or improve this system?
In classrooms across America, teachers must provide instruction that is culturally, linguistically appropriate as well as based on core standards. Special education gives children instruction based upon their unique needs based on a documented disability. Student disabilities often involve mental, physical, emotional and behavioral issues that makes instruction a challenge. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (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." (Building the legacy: IDEA 2004) This law provides guidelines for the educational system to identify, assess and implement education to meet the learning requirements of students with disabilities such as autism, emotional, mental retardation or physical disability. It is important to note that not every child with a disability requires special education - learning must be adversely affected and have one of the categories of special education to quality for services." (Building the legacy: IDEA 2004)
I have been a Special Education Para-Educator for eleven years now. My decision to do this was based on the needs of my family and kids. When my last child was born, the doctors did not think that he would make it. He had a heart malfunction and was born with RSV and Von Villibrantds disease (which I did not find out until he was three); those factors lead me to want to work with special education kids, knowing that I could make a difference.
Children with disabilities are more in the public eye than years ago, although they are still treated differently. Our society treats them differently from lack of education on special needs. The society labels them and make their lives more difficult than it has to be becau...
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).
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.