Special Education According to the Federal Laws

Special Education

According to the Federal Laws of the United States of America, "Special Education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability [IDEA 97-300.26(a)]." The revised statutes of Arizona defines a child with disability as "a child who is at least three but less than twenty-two years of age, who has been evaluated and found to have a disability and who, because of the disability, needs special education and related services [ARS 15-761(2)]." Under federal law, a student can qualify for special education services under the disability categories of mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities [IDEA 97-602(3)(a)]. (Special Education - Definition), (Learning Disability Resources) & (Legal Definition of Special Education)

According to the U.S. federal code (Section 300.7-(10) of 34 CFR Parts 300 and 303), Learning disability can be defined as "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia." According to the 'lectric law library, Special Education is defined as "Specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of a handicapped child, including classroom instruction, home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions." (Special Education - Definition), (Learning Disability Resources) & (Legal Definition of Special Education)

Introduction:

Special Education is a method in the mainstream education process that addresses the needs of those children who are marred by physical and mental disabilities. Since such children cannot form part of the mainstream educational process, there was a need for a different method that catered to the academic needs of such students. Thus the branch of 'Special Education' came into being. It looked into the basic requirements of children who suffered from mental and physical disabilities and therefore could not avail regular education. Special education is a process that is a uniquely designed mode of instruction by the department of education at no extra cost aimed at fulfilling the requirements of a student with mental and physical disabilities.

It is common knowledge that students who suffer from mental and physical disabilities cannot be a part of the mainstream educational process. They tend to require extra attention, more care and some unique methodologies to deal with their state of mind and body so as to facilitate a better and more effective educational process. Children ho suffer from mental and physical disorders are those who have learning disabilities thus preventing them to be a part of the mainstream education system. A learning disorder is one wherein the student is devoid of the psychological ability to perform basic learning functions such as learning, ability to use and apply languages, perform functions such as understand and analyze what is being taught. Due to their inability, they require special care and attention thus requiring a very different method of education.

Several laws and regulations under the United States Federal Code facilitate the application of Special Education thus catering to the needs of those students who are mentally and physically challenged. Students with mental disabilities are those who suffer from brain injury, brain dysfunction, perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, developmental aphasia and other brain disorders that come in the way of a child's ability to apply his or her mental abilities in a free manner. In the United States of America, Special Education programs are conducted and maintained by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in coordination with the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) and the Federal Resource Center. The program so conducted by these organizations is regulated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act better known as IDEA.

Impact of changing demographics on educational service delivery in the United States:

huge number of immigrants enter the United States every year. This has had a tremendous impact on the public school population across the United States of America. It is widely believed that within the next fifty or so years, the population of the United States will become more diverse than it is in the present day. Among those immigrating to the United States, a huge majority belongs to the Asian and Pacific countries from where groups are migrating into the United States more than ever before. The arrival of more and more students with physical and mental disabilities from these regions has given special and increased significance to the concept of Special Education.

Moreover, a marked impact is felt in the educational scenario with the influx of ever-increasing number of migrants. Enrolments in schools across California have been on a steady rise. The percentage of Hispanic population has grown progressively. It is widely believed that by the year 2009-2010, the Hispanic population would have a considerable majority among other groups. Studies show that the African-American and the White population have maintained a southward trend. Among those whose population has remained fairly constant are the students of the Asian, Pacific Islander and Philippine origin. An ongoing development is the marked increase in special student populations, especially those who need to learn English. A series of statistical data has been presented hereunder for better understanding and analysis.

Table #1: Students by Ethnicity - State of California

Enrollment

Percent of Total

American Indian

Asian

Pacific Islander

Filipino

Hispanic

African-American

White

Multiple/No Response

Source: Educational Demographics Office, CBEDS (sifae02 5/7/03)]

Graph #1: State Enrolment

Source: Educational Demographics Office, CBEDS (sifae02 5/7/03)] (Remedial & Special Education: Creating classroom environments that address the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of students with disabilities) & (State of California - Educational Profile)

Federal and State Educational legislations across the United States have made it mandatory for all students with disabilities to participate in their state and district assessments. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization of the year 1997 expressly declares that "children with disabilities are included in general State and district-wide assessment programs with accommodations, where necessary." Furthermore, the Act adds that Alternate Assessment shall be provided to those students affected by disabilities for whom the standardized assessment stands unsuitable despite the provision of accommodation. The United States Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in the year 1975. This legislation mandated schools to serve those students with physical and mental disabilities.

Ever since, a huge number of students have been identified under this category and allotted to receive special education. This included a large number of students from varied ethnic and racial backgrounds. Separate classifications of students were made such as; learning disabled, emotionally disturbed and mildly, moderately or severely mentally retarded. These classifications were necessitated primarily so as to identify those students who required extra care and educational support. However these classifications among students receiving special education were not well received among students, teachers and parents in particular. General opinion suggested that such classifications did more to contribute to failures than the much required progress among such students which was painstakingly low. Moreover, it was felt that such classification added to fears of being permanently labeled. For years together, this remained an issue that was unresolved at all educational levels imparting special education.

According to elaborately conducted studies, more than 14% of black students form part of the special education program while the rate is pegged at 13% of American Indians, 12% of Whites, 11% of Hispanics and 5% of Asians. It is widely believed that this notably marked difference among different communities has indeed caused widespread anxiety. The apprehension so noted is but natural. 2.6% of black students have been identified as mentally retarded when compared with 1.2% of white students. An estimated 1.5% of black students are classified to be emotionally disturbed when compared with 0.91% of whites. However, mentally disabled students who are challenged with disorders related to learning form a minority group. Before any conclusion shall be arrived at, educators are required by the Individuals with Education Disabilities Act, to first provide superior learning to those students in a normal classroom environment. The need for Special Education practices shall be determined only after it has been concretely ascertained that the student in question is beyond doubt needs extra educational support. Such extra educational support shall be provided by means of Special Education programs. (Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education)

The proportion of children requiring special education has risen since the mid 1970s which witnessed the introduction of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The percentage of K-12 students who were recognized as needing special education increased from 8.3% in the year 1976-77 to 11.8% in the year 1998-99. It is believed that almost all enrolments in the 1970s can be related to the rise in one single category known as 'specific learning disability.' This condition has multiplied three fold from a figure of 1.8% of the student population in the year 1976-77 to 6% in the year 1998-99. Studies have indicated that all other classifications of special education which are mental retardation, serious emotional disturbance, deafness, blindness, autism and head injury, have actually decreased from 6.5% to 5.8% of the total student population during the very same period. Changing demographics which include overall student population and ethnic group composition have undoubted had a wide ranging impact on the method and students of Special Education programs in the United States. (The Myth of Special Education Burden: Education Week)

Comparison of the California State and Federal methods of student classification:

It is estimated that close to 12% of students from kindergarten up to the 12th grade are classified as students requiring special education. Studies show that Children with severe disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, blindness and deafness account for only a tenth of those students who have been assigned under that class requiring special education. The remaining 90% of those classified students can best be illustrated as those students afflicted by conditions that are far less noticeable and in truth, equally harder to substantiate objectively such as specific learning disability (SLD), speech and language delays, mild mental retardation and emotional disorders. Specific Learning Disability (SLD) is the most common label accounting for more than half of all students covered by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Federal law defines Specific Learning Disability (SLD) as "a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell or do mathematical calculations." A President's commission report of the year 2002 estimated that out of 80% of those students who have received a diagnosis for Specific Learning Disability (SLD), two out of every five students are identified to be part of the program simply because they have not practiced reading and writing. More and more students are being increasingly categorized under the head "affected by Specific Learning Disability (SLD)." This is not because it is generally so, instead because of the fact that schools running programs on Specific Learning Disability (SLD) are funded more. The belief that special education students indeed exert a financial strain on schools has run high among educators across the United States. This stands to be one of the many reasons as to why students are classified under the Specific Learning Disability (SLD). (Reason Magazine Special Education Confidential How Schools use)

Among the most common attributes used by educators to identify students requiring special education are; minority status with regards to race and ethnicity, poverty, number of parents whether single or both, educational background of the mother; and possession of a non-English language background. The fiscal 1997-1998 saw the enactment of a bill in the legislature of California that changed the way in which special education students moved from one grade to another. The bill was in effect a combination of three legal pieces of legislation. The three-bill combination wrap up, AB1626 (Chapter 742, Statutes of 1998), AB 1639 (Chapter 743, Statutes of 1998) and SB 1370 (Chapter 942, Statutes of 1998) outlined new-fangled methodologies of pupil promotion and retention in California. The bill was designed primarily to disregard the practice of social promotion which was in effect based on factors that were not directly connected with grade-level content mastery. Among other things, this legislative framework contained factors such as identification and retention of low performing students, decision making authority of the local education agency which in effect was the school itself; and decisions with reference to student retention based on manifold aspects.

The students overall performance in the academic scenario is required to be judged from time to time and a detailed and comprehensive analysis report needs to be prepared with the inclusion of the opinion and judgment of the concerned teacher. This way, the grades and performance are analyzed and a decision may be arrived at. Through this legislation, it has been widely recognized that while all students do possess individual learning needs, those students who are categorized under the special education program have exceptional educational needs, thus requiring more attention and care from schools that are designed to provide educational benefits exclusively to such category of students. Other popular methods include; general observation by teachers and educators and conducting standardized tests. (ENC Online: Equity and Special Education) & (California's guidelines for the promotion and retention of Special Education Students)

Legal basis for educational services for Special education Students:

There are several legal frameworks that have been enacted by the United States Congress and State legislatures with regards to Special Education. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was enacted by the United States Congress on November 19, 1975 as a public law (PL) 94-142. It is still held to be the primary legislation that regulates special education policies and principles across the nation. It was originally not a fresh piece of legislation and was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. The United States Congress promulgated this law based upon the outcome of two landmark cases in the United States Supreme Court along with testimonies based on facts made in the United States Congress. Prior to the year 1975, there were no laws that governed the provisions and principles of Special Education in the United States. Due to this, many students who suffered from learning disabilities were not able to avail quality education or education at all for that matter.

The non-existence of a primary legal framework allowed schools across the United States to exclude children with disabilities from their rosters. Painfully and disrespectfully dejected and devoid of their fundamental right, children with disabilities could not look for a legal system to address their requirements. A more raw form of special education was offered wherein groups of students with different disabilities were grouped together under one roof. Apart from the State schools for the deaf, there were no established schools that provided special education. With the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and subsequently the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), schools across the United States were mandated by law to provide special education to those students they identified as requiring.

Gone was the regimen of excluding students who were afflicted with disabilities. The legal basis for the education of students with disabilities was found on the basis of two principles acknowledged by the United States Supreme Court. They are; exclusion from public education is unacceptable and that separate is inherently unequal. In the year 1972, the United States Supreme Court proclaimed that public education must be extended to include children with disabilities in the historic cases; Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens [PARC] v. Pennsylvania, 343 F.Supp. 279 [Pa. 1972] and Mills v. Washington D.C. Board of Education, 348 F.Supp. 866 [D.C. 1972]. In the wake of the Supreme Court cases and its decision, the United States Congress initiated preliminary investigations into the education of children with disabilities. It was determined that more than eight million children needed special education while it was established that only 3.9 million children were receiving an appropriate form of education. An estimated 0.75 million children with disabilities were receiving no education at all whatsoever, while 2.5 million children were receiving a form of education that was considered inappropriate. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is also a funding statue.

So as to receive federal funding that has been allocated by the United States Congress; each state is required to develop a plan which ensures that all provisions listed by the IDEA are complied within the state. As of today, 50 states have ensured total compliance and continue to receive federal funding. The IDEA has been amended with the inclusion of several changes from time to time. With changing amendments, the United States Department of Education (DOE) has from time to time issued certain standards that have to be met by states. The department has also permitted states to formulate their own standards which are usually different from one another. Despite widespread application and reference, a good number of states are yet to implement the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and related standards. Quicker implementations would speed up the process of quality special education which currently is a dire necessity. That apart, implementation also guarantees the removal of several bottlenecks faced by the students who are identified as those challenged by learning disabilities. (Section I, How the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) applies to deaf and hard)

Another significant piece of legislation that is a primary guarantor of the rights of disabled children is the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PL 93-112). The Rehabilitation Act has been amended in the year 1992 to include Section 504 which underscores the rights of any child who is mentally challenged. Constructed on the policy that is aimed at eliminating discrimination on the basis of disability, it is regarded highly significant in the legal mandate of Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and the use of complementary aids and facilities for students with disabilities. Section 504 "establishes the right of any student or adult who has a mental or physical impairment which inhibits a major life activity including learning; has a history of such impairment; or is considered by a team of knowledgeable individuals to have such impairment, from being discriminated against program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Furthermore, the Act requires that students be provided "free appropriate public education in regular education classes, with necessary supplementary aids and services, if they are determined by a school team to be disabled under Section 504 or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)." The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 declares that free appropriate public education (FAPE) be provided to all those students who are eligible for special education. (Special Education Local Plan Area - Legal Background) & (Laws affecting Special Education by Reed Martin)