Special Education: a Look at the History

Special education is a relatively new concept in education. The question is why? Although, the Federal Government required all children to attend school since 1918, this did not apply to students with disabilities. Many state laws gave school districts the ability to deny access to individuals they deem “uneducable.” The term “uneducable” varied from state to state, school to school, and even individual to individual. If students were accepted into the school, they were placed in regular classrooms with their peers with no support or in classrooms that were not appropriate to meet their needs. This started to change with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The lawsuit Brown vs the Board of Education sued to end segregation of public schools laid the ground work for Individuals with Disabilities Act. The next major impact in education was the enactment of Elementary and Secondary Act signed into effect by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The purpose of this law was to provide fair and equal access to education for all, established higher standards, and mandated funds for professional development, resources for support education programs, and parent involvement. Under this law, programs like Head Start were created and celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. Despite additional federal funds and mandatory laws, children with disabilities were unserved or underserved by public school due to loop holes with in the law. Many more lawsuit followed Brown vs

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was introduced March 22 2001, and enacted January 8th 2002. NCLB was enacted after the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 was determined to be out of date, and underperforming by the majority of US legislatures. The goal of NCLB was to improve the overall success rate of students in The United States compared to other developed nations. The initial act was supported bipartisanly and was the First bill passed by the 107th Congress, but was soon opposed by many politicians and educators.

Following the early 1980s, litigation and court decisions had set the stage for additional special education laws to the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) which was subsequently reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This assisted the primary confirmation of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to every student by covering educational costs before to after children reach school age such as the needs of children with disabilities birth from early intervention services to lessen the potential for delays. It continued to extend for most students with disabilities that had formerly been, “provided services within small classroom setting, and taught by specially trained teachers who focused on adapting instruction to each student’s needs…Students receiving special education services [and a multidisciplinary] were increasingly being mainstreamed (taught, to the fullest extent possible, in a regular classroom setting)” (Dunlap, 2009, p. 9). Two rulings (Roncker v Walter and Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education) were comparable by addressing the issue of carrying educational services to the kid set against the opposite manner by the principle of portability,

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which was passed Congress with overwhelming support in 2001 and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, is the name for the most recent update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The NCLB law¬ which grew out of concern that the American education system was no longer internationally competitive¬¬ significantly increased the federal role in holding schools responsible for the academic progress of all students. It put a special focus on ensuring that states and schools boost the performance of certain groups of students, such as English language students, students in special education, and poor and minority children, whose achievement, on average, fell below their peers. States did not have to comply with the new requirements, but if they didn’t, they risked losing federal Title I money.

President Bush quoted, “Clearly, our children are our future…Too many of our neediest children are being left behind” (www.ed.gov). The “No Child Left Behind” Act expands the federal government’s role in elementary and secondary education. The NCLB emphasizes accountability and abiding by policies set by the federal government. This law sets strict requirements and deadlines for states to expand the scope and frequency of student testing, restore their accountability system and guarantee that every classroom is staffed by a teacher qualified to teach in his or her subject area. Furthermore, the NCLB requires states to improve the quality of their schools from year to year. The NCLB pushes state governments

The No Child Left Behind Act, otherwise known as NCLB, was passed in 2001. NCLB was intended to help schools improve their test scores in reading and math, from third to eighth grades. The law required every child to be proficient in those subjects by 2014 (Rich). There has been much debate over whether the NCLB Act is beneficial for schools and children, or whether it has the opposite effect.

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was passed by Congress in 2001 with overwhelming bipartisan support. On Jan. 8, 2002, the Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The initiation of this policy in the education sector marked the most recent expansion of the federal role in education especially to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The NCLB policy was developed out of the concern that the American education system was historically disadvantaged over time, and the federal government needed to play a greater role in increasing its responsibilities in the education sector for purposes of making the American education sector internationally competitive.

In 1965, then President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act into law. Over the years it has been repeatedly reauthorized and updated by congress. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was first introduced as House Resolution 1 during the 107th Congress in March of 2001. The Act aimed to ensure that all students regardless of race or socioeconomic status would have the opportunity for a solid education. The 2002 reauthorization included major bipartisan efforts to expose achievement gaps between sets of children and hold schools accountable for closing the gaps and helping all children succeed. In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Act into law (McGuinn, 2006).

Perhaps the most extensively and passionately discussed topic in special education in recent years has been the topic of inclusion. Even though an agreed upon explanation of full inclusion does not exist, full inclusion refers to the total integration of a student with disabilities into the regular education program with special support. In full inclusion, the student’s main placement is in the general educational classroom. Students do not reside in a resource room nor are they assigned to a special education classroom. Consequently, the student with disabilities is a member of the general education class. On the other hand the student with special needs does not need to be in the general class 100 percent of the time, but can leave the class

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is currently the educational policy in the United States. Prior to NCLB, the educational policies in effect were “A Nation at Risk, in 1987 America 2000, and a few years later with Goals 2000” (Eisner, 2001, p.21). No Child Left Behind is a test based accountability system used in schools to measure their performance holding the districts, administrators and teachers liable and accountable for the outcomes. Supovitz (2009) States that No Child Left Behind was a major reform initiative intended to bring about widespread improvements in student performance and reduce inequities between ethnic groups and other traditionally under-served populations like economically disadvantaged students, students from major racial groups, students with disabilities and limited English proficiency students.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), federal special education funds are distributed through three state grant programs and the important thing about these laws, and specifically the requirements of IDEA, is that they show a concerted effort by the federal government to align major legislative and regulatory requirements affecting states. While the 1973 Rehabilitation Act guaranteed the right of disabled children to education, a student offered an educational program providing “merely more than de minimis” progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all. Section 504 stated that “no otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall solely by reason of disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination. Since the law was passed 40 years ago, the federal government has failed to provide even half of the funding it pledged to help schools educate kids with special needs.

Three historic major laws that had an impact on Special Education include Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, No Child Left Behind, and Individualized Education Programs. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) law guarantees that students who have special needs will receive the help that they need from free public education in the smallest restrictive environment necessary to meet the needs of the students. It helps the students gain the additional help they need, but it also lets them to join in the same activities as children without special needs whenever possible. I believe that this law is important for schools, students and teachers today, because all students are getting the help they need. Everyone should have

The History of Special Education and the Laws Associated with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The history of Special Education just as any history; is a long battle that has been fought by many who cared in order to bring us to where we are today. Its Journey has and will be never ending; since society is forever evolving. We will be fighting for equal rights in education and in life for many years to come since the definition of Special Education is not a precise one. In this paper you will learn the basics of what injustices we have risen above, to the current state we are in, and even what possibilities

The special education system in the United states has drastically changed, but some are questioning where it stands; is it for the better, or for the worse? Many can agree that improvements have helped shape education Acts and school environments which, were proposed in meeting the needs of students with disabilities, but others questioned if it had, at all, started with distinguishing the purpose of inclusion, and if so, is it key in understanding the impact of the special education system on those with disabilities? In order to properly grasp the concept of inclusion, one would have to examine a series of documented research done on inclusion, and how it incorporates to a multitude of opportunities opening up to students