Legal Framework Supporting Inclusive Education

Identify legislation and policies which are designed to promote the human rights,inclusion equal ife chances and citizenship of individuals with learning disabilities

Outline the legal entitlements of disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs.

Throughout the ages, people with disabilities have been hidden away at homes or institutions and were often not educated. This was common practice and as such, when the education system was designed, children with disabilities were not even considered. Then, starting soon after the civil rights movement in the 50’s, a series of lawsuits was brought against school boards and the federal government took notice. Then the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was passed and these children were finally allowed the education they deserved. As time went

Disability Act (2010) refers to those people whom got a medical condition that requires special attention and extra care and helps us, as teachers to treat them equally and not let them feel excluded, this Act can be linked to A, B and F Domains from LLUK standards. If in my course of work I’ll have to deal with a disabled learner I’ll try to plan the session according www,,, to this and prepare for him appropriate tasks. I’ll try to widen my knowledge about his/her disability to know better his/her needs and what teaching

Among these rules, one of the rules is the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995; it is a legislation which protects the rights of young people and children with ill health or disabilities. It also influences the duty of schools and other related institutions to create a general setting. The Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 is another act which will help in making the

Outcome 1 Understand the legislation and policies that support the human rights ind inclusion of individuals with learning disabilities

1.1 Identify Legislation and policies that are designed to promote the human rights, inclusion, equal life chances and citizenship of individuals with learning disabilities.

Understand the legislation and policies that support the human rights and inclusion of individuals with learning disabilities.

OUTCOME 1 Understand the legislation and policies that support the human rights and inclusion of individuals with learning disabilities.

Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.

In 1994, representatives of 92 governments and 25 international organizations formed the World Conference on Special Needs Education and called on the international community to endorse the concept of change and inclusion through a new statement called ‘The Salamanca Statement’. As this was the first major international statement of what an inclusive approach to education needs to be, they formed practical strategies to ensure this positive inclusion would take place worldwide.

The importance of education for all children, especially for those with disability and with limited social and economic opportunities, is indisputable. Indeed, the special education system allowed children with disability increased access to public education. Apart from that, the special education system has provided for them an effective framework for their education, and for the institutions involved to identify children with disability sooner. In turn, this promotes greater inclusion of children with disability alongside their nondisabled peers. In spite of these advances however, many obstacles remain, including delays in providing services for children with disability, as well as regulatory and

A second law dealing with special needs students is section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act requires that schools, which receive federal funding, provide equal education to all handicapped children in the schools jurisdiction (W.E.A.C, 2001). This act also requires that handicapped children be educated with other children who are not handicapped to the maximum extent (W.E.A.C, 2001). This requirement clearly points to inclusion as the best option available for handicapped students, in the opinion of the federal government. Section 504 has helped handicapped people in other areas as well. The act requires that public buildings make architectural changes to increase accessibility for those with special needs (Choate, 1997). This part of the act was important because it put an end to school?s using the structure of the school building as an excuse for providing an unequal education to those children who were handicapped or disabled.

For years children with special needs were ushered off to separate classes and schools. Children with special needs have the right to attend classes with their same aged peers in the same classroom with support. Students with special needs deserve the same opportunities they would have if circumstances were different. Inclusion gives those students with special needs the chance to be part of the community; able to form relationships outside of the family unit. All students benefit from inclusion; students with disabilities develop social skills and develop friendships while non-disabled students learn tolerance and acceptance.

Inclusion has become a necessity in South Africa as South Africa has a history of violence and the education system has always been politicised and used by the ruling class as a way of marginalising and stigmatising various groups in society (De Lange, 1989). Inequalities in our society, lack of access to basic services and poverty are prevailing historical factors that place our children at risk and still lead to severe exclusion of children with barriers to learning (whether it be economic, social, intellectual, language, socio-economic or physical barriers) (UNESCO, 2005). Today there are still about two hundred and eighty thousand learners with disabilities or impairments that are not in any form of education (Department of Education, 2001). Inclusion is therefore necessary because all learners have a right to an education, to be accepted and given the