Ideas for Special Education

Special Education This brief report will cover the subject of special education. To state the obvious, special education is a critical part of an education infrastructure that is derided by many as being underfunded and/or poorly run. The Special Education IDEA program has apparently shown some progress but the just-mentioned lack of funding, at least in the eyes of many, is a sore subject. This report shall cover the concept that the special education framework in this country be revamped and reimagined.

Past and present legislation such as IDEA will be used as a reference point. Finally, there will be a mention of the vision and frameworks espoused by Vygotsky in his 1999 treatise on the subject of special education. While special education is certainly not completely broken, it could certainly be improved and the main issues would seem to be offering the proper curriculum as well as procuring and using the proper funding.

Analysis When it comes to special education, it is the assertion that a revamp and rearrangement of resources is in order. One part of the country that tries very hard to be "out in front" when it comes to education and the law would be California. As would be expected, they are one of the more vocal parts of the country when it comes to what should be happening with special education.

As has already been alluded to in general terms, the main thing they take issue with is the amount of funding that is dedicated and allotted to special education. At issue with some is the fact that federal and state funding rates are not equal across the entire state and many advocates are imploring legislators to fix that perceived deficiency. At stake is $8 billion a year that goes to about 702,000 special education students in California alone (Adams, 2015).

Similar efforts spun up in New York and New Jersey as far back as the late 1990's. However, those plans centered on scaling the level of benefit for each student rather focusing on equality. Many assert that such plans are against existing law and thus they are non-starters (Tassel, 1989).

In between the coastal battles just mentioned is the state of Louisiana, which has focused on providing a pathway for special education students to get a high school diploma that is worth the paper it is printed on due to the receipt of a quality education despite the need for a special education approach.

The bill was passed unanimously but there are grumblings among many within the special education community as some think the bill (which passed without any dissent) is worthwhile while others say it is bad for special education students (Sentell, 2014).

When it comes to the Vygotsky theory or assertion that perhaps has the most relevance in modern society, it would be the idea that people in need of special education services are not simply people with biological problems that lead to psychological dysfunction but instead are people with a sociocultural developmental phenomenon.

The author of this report really latched onto this stanza because while biological dysfunction is indeed a real thing and something that must be dealt with, it is also important to look at the social and cultural implications that a special education student must deal with in modern society.

Whether it be the difficulty of learning in a system that is mostly not geared for them or whether it be the sneers and teasing that heartless and immature kids levy at them, the proverbial deck is stacked against special education kids in more than one way and sociocultural concerns are a huge part of the calculus that should be used when crafting special education and wider curricula (Gindis, 1999). Conclusion As with most.