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Special ed is not a Scandal Essay

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Special ed is not a Scandal

Special Education Is Not A Scandal
Article #33

I think the biggest most important law having to due with education and the general public is PL 94-142. It is because of this laws effect on the school system and the impact that it left in the history of special education that I chose to write about it. Implemented in the 1970’s PL 94-142 is responsible for a change in which all handicapped children are entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE), a change that gave the disabled a fighting chance towards education in a world that was very discriminating. This law was amended in 1983, 1986 and reauthorized in 1990 ensuring that every child receives an individualized appropriate education in the …show more content…

Success in these cases won the plaintiff’s the right for a free appropriate education, an Individualized Educational Program, and due process procedures. It was as this time that PL 94-142 first came into effect. Eventually Education for All Handicapped Children ACT (EAHCA) led to today’s version PL 101-476 other wise known as IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). With time this law was tested and brought into consideration in a multitude of cases involving disabled students. For example, in the case of Oberti v. Board of Education in 1993 the notion of educating children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment in an appropriate and efficient manner was once again ruled in favor of by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. However in the case of the Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley the Supreme Court stated that PL 94-142 was intended to provide a “open door” for disabled students to succeed, and could not be held liable for providing the best possible of all services.

With the heavy cost of the special education, about 22% or $30 billion of the budget, many politicians and administrators would like to come up with a more cost effective solution. “Most hope to save money by pushing disabled children out of the small, specialized classes that many of them need to succeed and into crowded, ill equipped classrooms where they will compete with non disabled peers”, says Brent Staples

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