Case Study: Student with Special Needs

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has established procedures for the placement of students with disabilities within a school setting. Members of the child study

While all children can be referred for evaluation for special education, not all are found to be eligible. The student will be tested in all areas related to the child’s assumed disability by the multidisciplinary educational team. In order to be eligible for special education services, the child’s assume disability has to impact the child’s ability to learn. Parents represent the child’s interests. They need to stay informed and involved in their child’s education. IDEA of 2004 strengthened the role, as well as the responsibility, of parents and ensures that they and their families have opportunities to participate in their child’s education. IDEA also protects the rights of parents by ensuring that they can be members of the IEP teams. Parents can be involved in the evaluations and placements of their children and have a say in what happens.

The district argued that the Individuals with Disabilities Education act (IDEA) does not state that a district must exhaust all possible services before an alternative placement for a student (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). IDEA applies to Wally’s case in that this act discusses the issue of whether or not a student’s behavioral issues are related to their disability.

Williams is familiar with due to her experience teaching special education classes before becoming a principal. According to Mrs. William’s point of view, the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act is a way to formally document how the school meets the needs of students with a documented disability and provide protection to these students while they are in the public school system (Williams, personal communication, 2/3/17). One of the major premises of Section 504 is that it prohibits discrimination of any kind against a student of any disability. Students with disabilities cannot be excluded from participating or denied benefits or be discriminated against under any program receiving federal financial assistance (DOE, 2015). Students with disabilities such as hearing or vision impairment, learning disabilities, or emotional disabilities can receive teaching accommodations as well by using a 504 plan. This plan ensures that students with disabilities receive equal access to benefit from any needed educational aid, benefits or services. Students with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education just the same as non-disabled students. They need to have the correct tools provided in order to access this education on the same level. These tools might include larger print books, enlargements of paper assignments, or even a personal monitor that is connected to the teacher’s workstation in order to better see the board work like the other students. Students with other disabilities are provided the resources they need to access their education as normally as possible. Additionally, students with behavior disabilities are given the protections they need to be able to have time to work on making improvements. For example, a student in 2nd grade that was recently placed on a 504 plan for an emotional disability which can manifest in violent, inappropriate behaviors has certain rights now. He has

Early national period, permits monitorial schools, religious organization, and free school societies to fill the space before state systems came about. Laws were given for a vast amount of sovereignty to be delegated to local school boards while financial support largely depended on local property tax (Pulliam & Van, 2013). With these conditions, it was normal for districts authorities to maintain power and more control by the state. Pulliam & Van (2013) stated back in the early national period, Henry Bernard and Horace Mann constructed their personal state school system without seizing the policy making power of boards of education. During the World War II, the customs of local autonomy have caused conflict with state legislatures. Currently, state governments and departments of education have a more vigorous role in teachers’ certification, creating lists of appropriate course materials and even directing the curriculum (Pulliam & Van, 2013). Multiple states

This case was brought forth to the court system under of the laws that were determined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as an appeal to the decision of the district court was well as the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). The parents of Zachary Deal believed that the school system failed to provide their son with a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE) as well as not placing Zachary in the least restrictive environment (LRE) as outlined as a requirement within the IDEA Act as well as in an IEP. Further, the Deal’s were requesting financial reimbursement for Zachary’s private school tuition as well as any other education related services that were provided and funded by the parents outside of the school. While the ALJ found the school liable for part of the reimbursement, they also found that the school was in violation of IDEA because of substantive violations during the process of identifying assistance for Zachary Deal. Both the Hamilton County Board of Education and the Deal family appealed the ALJ’s findings which escalated the court case to a

This law has some of the definitions revised, changes several key components, and recompiled IDEA into four parts. IDEA's four parts that it is organized into consists of Part A, General provisions; Part B, Assistance for the education of all children with disabilities; Part C, infants and toddlers with disabilities; and Part D, National activities to improve the education of children with disabilities. Students with disabilities may be placed into an alternative educational setting for up to 45 days if they bring a weapon to school, possess or use illegal drugs, or pose a serious threat of injury to other pupils or themselves. Students with disabilities will receive appropriate accommodations when necessary for in state and district wide testing programs. IEPs are now required to include exactly how the student with disabilities will be involved with the general education curriculum. There are also provisions that state that transition planning will begin at the age of 14 instead of 16, annual goals will be emphasized, any assistive technology needs of the learner need to be examined and considered, and regular educators will be a part of the IEP team. The category of developmental delay may now

Throughout history there have been many educational mandates and laws in which have provided more opportunities for equal educational access. Section 504, the first Civil Rights Law for protection of students with disabilities was signed into law in 1973. This paved the way to many rights for students with disabilities to have a Free, Appropriate, Public, Education. This law in essence means, no program, that receives federal funds, can discriminate based upon their disability in which substantially limits one more more major life functions. Throughout this paper I will be reviewing the historical perspective on Section 504, the federal and state mandates, legal cases pertaining to Section 504, current issues, and applying the information to my current districts implementation of 504 plans.

Rules, regulations, and federal laws for special education have improved as the years have gone by. This essay will indicate how educators teaching special education must comprehend the mandates of the Individual with Disability Act (IDEA), student and parental rights. This essay will also explain how court cases (past and present) and IDEA has given special education students the ability to receive a Free Appropriate Education (FAPE). My interview with Ms. Patricia Pritchett, Coordinator of Special Education in DeKalb County School District, was able to give me information and guidelines in reference to their county procedures and policies for the special education department. The interview with Ms. Pritchett gave me insight as to special education legal framework and how the constant changes that affects students with disabilities and regular education students.

All qualified students with disabilities living inside of the school district area are entitled to a “free and appropriate education”. To be appropriate the educational program must be designed to meet the individual needs of the student, as outlined in their IEP, to the same

Debbie Young a high school principal, who had served as a special education teacher and an assistant principal needed to decide if a student Jonathan would be able to attend her school. Jonathan is a severely disabled tenth-grade student, who has multiple disabilities requiring constant care by a specially trained nurse. Johnathan is profoundly mentally disabled, has spastic quadriplegia (cerebral palsy that affect all four limbs), and has a seizure disorder. With this information, Young refuses the parents request due to the expense and the view that this school is not the most appropriate placement for Jonathan. Hopefully, Young has some grounds as to why Jonathan would not do well in her high school, because his parents have rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to make sure he has

The idea of children with disabilities, whether they be mild or severe has been a very controversial and misunderstood topic. In the past inclusion has brought about huge changes for not only the students, but also the parents and families of these children, and staff at schools. Teachers and education professionals were the first to really feel the wrath and intimidation of this dramatic shift in education. There were several different factors that were coming about that made it very difficult for schools and teachers, the unorganized mandates were strict and didn’t allow much time for change. “President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) into law in 1975. Since the original passage of the EAHCA, the law has been amended four times and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (Conroy, Yell, Katsiyannis, & Collins, 2010, para.1).

Public Law 94-142: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), requires states to provide free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for every child regardless of disability. This federal law was the first to clearly define the rights of disabled children to receive special education services if their disability affects their educational performance. A parent of a special education student also has basic rights under IDEA including the right to have their child evaluated by the school district and to be included when the school district meets about the child or makes decisions about his or her education. If a child is identified as in need of special education

Our country’s Legislative system has set many laws in place to protect the educational rights of all students, which allows for students to have a greater opportunity for educational success with funding levels varying between the states. Hooper and Umansky’s book, Young Children with Special Needs, states that the majority of early childhood intervention programs began under the "umbrella of Maternal and Child Health (MCH),” which was put into place in 1935 in accordance with the Social Security Act. The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are two programs stemming from this historical piece of legislation. The Americans with Disabilities Act was an anti-discrimination law that allowed for more students to have access to certain facilities and resources giving them a better chance to succeed in their education. IDEA made it mandatory for the state to provide special education service programs for children between the ages of three and five. The parents with children who are included in IDEA typically receive grants to help them fund their child's education. Another piece of legislation that is widely utilized in classrooms today is the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). This plan develops a plan of action for the family with children that receive special education services and allows the information to further assist the child beyond school grounds. In use today is the Affordable Care Act (2012) that allowed for programs to be funded that look to prevent and care for children

Schooling for the disabled requires a special environment—one that only a few teachers have the gift to care for. Instead of looking out for the child’s