Students With Disabilities Education Improvement Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was initially passed in 1975. Prior to the passage of the IDEA, many people with disabilities were denied access to public education and many were relegated to institutions. The IDEA guarantees individuals with disabilities a free and appropriate education (FAPE) in a least restrictive environment (LRE). The IDEA is a great piece of legislation that has evolved as it has gone through reauthorization. The many facets of the IDEA help to shape the manner in which teachers facilitate classroom instruction and manage classroom activities.

The inclusion of children with learning disabilities into normal classrooms has proved to exhibit both positive and negative effects on children with and without disabilities.

In elementary school, my classroom had students with and without disabilities, and we all shared the same space while working towards a common goal, but over time this diverse community diminished. This phenomenon of tracking and hierarchy of opportunity in education that I notice today is also responsible for creating an environment in which secondary special education is often a segregated locale, physically and socially removed from mainstream public schooling. I've witnessed Syracuse University push against this norm and challenge these boundaries time and time again, and I feel that before entering my own my classroom I want to address these issues of homogeneity and continue to build my tool box of inclusionary practices that extend past my current

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that guarantees educational services to eligible students with disabilities. It establishes “people first” language for referring to people with disabilities. IDEA requires states to educate students with disabilities for transition to employment, and to provide transition services. IDEA also provides the students with a free and appropriate education If a student with a disability is expelled from school, IDEA says that he or she must still receive educational services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that all students with disabilities take state and district testing. This law also requires a general education teacher to be a member of the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) team.

“Disabling segregation” by Dan Habib solely focuses on inclusion within the classroom and the community. He, like most people, grew up in a society where those who have a disability were separated from those who are “normal”. Habib’s passion for inclusion did not occur until after the birth of his youngest son, Samuel. Samuel was born with cerebral palsy. After Samuel’s diagnosis, Habib wanted to do everything he could to make sure his son was included. In his speech, he talks about how inclusion in schools leads to higher marks on tests and assignments than classrooms that are separated. Habib stated that 56% of kids with disabilities spend their day in a separate classroom. He advocates for inclusion, not only for the sake of his son, but also for all children who are like Samuel and who may have never gotten the chance to succeed. Habib tells a story about a man who was very much like Samuel but was never lucky enough to be given the tools he needed for success. Due to the lack of resources, people in that man’s life held him to a much lower standard and he became resentful towards those who were not treating him like a real human being.

In 1991 the Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was replaced by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law was passed to provide free and appropriate public education to every child with a disability. It requires that each child with a disability “have access to the program best suited to that child’s special needs which is as close as possible to a normal child’s educational program” (Martin, 1978). The Individualized education program (IEP) was developed to help provide a written record of students’ needs and procedures for each child that receives special education services. The IEP will list all the services to be provided, the student's performance level, academic performance, and

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.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA was originally created in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities were given the opportunity to receive a free and adequate education. IDEA has been revised and many times since 1975, the most recent being in 2004. IDEA consists of parts A, B, C, and D. Part A outlines the basic foundation, and defines terms used throughout the act. Part B outlines the responsibilities of schools to educate students aged 3-21.

The teacher can encourage this inclusion by teaching the students, parents, and other community members about negative stereotypical attitudes about students with disabilities by avoiding negative words, such as “disabled”, or “crippled”, or “handicapped” and to promote positive ideas about disabilities into class work, the student’s play time and other activities. To further ensure that the classroom is promoting equality for the child with the disability, the teacher should incorporate an inclusive curriculum mindset, by adapting the lessons, learning materials and classroom to suit the needs of all the different types of learners including the child with the disability within the classroom.

…“Children with disabilities should be educated in the most open and normal environment possible (the least restrictive environment); when needed, evaluations, diagnose, and treatments should be done without stigmatization and discrimination.”… (Pg. 176)

Up until age 21, children with disabilities are covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was first enacted in 1975 and most recently revised in 2004. IDEA mandates that every state provides children with disabilities a free public education that meets their individual and unique needs (Autism speaks toolkit, 2015). Many families with children with ASD have spent years navigating the school system in order to maximize their child’s potential under this Act. Children with ASD can receive various services included special education, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, or mental health counseling. When the school years are over, many adolescents may lose these support services that they have become

The Disabilities Education Act requires that states provide early intervention practices, special education and related service to children and their families. The Act seeks to provide education for children with disabilities with a view of preparing them for employment and independent living, if possible. The Act provides opportunities for families to be fully involved in the entire

Diversity is a scary thing. From the dawn of human existence, diversity has been at the root of major social issues and continues to be the culprit of social differences in the world today. The thought of someone being different creates a universe of insecurities that motivates people, either consciously - or not, to think less of that person, to consider them inferior, without ever getting to know them. This is especially evident when it comes to children with educationally-handicapping disabilities. Findings reported by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, suggest that “roughly half of adolescents with autism, intellectual disability, speech impairments and learning disabilities are bullied at school” (Diament). The lack of interaction from an early age between students with mental disabilities and the students without them is most likely to blame for the animosity displayed all too often between these peers. There are many different viewpoints on the best way to facilitate the growth of these relationships, but with enough research the correct answer is transparently clear. Although some would argue that full inclusion or self contained classes for children with special educational needs is the best way to enrich the learning environment for all students, individualized inclusion is the only alternative that positions classes in a way that significantly improves the social and intellectual development of students with cognitive disabilities and properly

Over the past twenty years, there has been a strong movement within schools around the United States to integrate students with disabilities in to general education classrooms. Schools have been making more efforts to increase educational opportunities for students with disabilities, and while there are many benefits to inclusion, there are also many challenges. Inclusion of special education students in a regular education classroom continues to be the center of debate amongst administrators and teachers. Everyone has their own ideas and attitudes towards inclusion, and research studies have revealed that there are many things that contribute to those positive or negative attitudes.

Now, as far as how all students fair academically, it can vary based on school rules and acceptance of it, the teacher, how the class operates, the amount of disabled verses nondisabled students, and so many other things. If inclusion is accepted and done right, there will be “no significant differences in the academic performance… of students without disabilities enrolled in inclusive classes and those who [are] not” (Disher, Mathot-Buckner, McDonnell, Mendel, and Thorson 224). “The presence of students with developmental disabilities in general education classes [does] not negatively impact the educational achievement of students without disabilities” (235). In fact, in some studies, some of the lower and average level general education students improved when placed in inclusive settings (Fiorello, Huber, and Rosenfeld 500). The use of tactics, like manipulatives and certain technological activities, geared towards special education students in the general education classroom, can inadvertently improve some of the other students understanding and test scores. Some people argue that placing special education students with advanced students creates too big of a gap moving the range of tolerance downward to the point that the needs of the high achievers are not being met (Fiorello, Huber, and Rosenfeld 498). However, this only happens when teachers over simplify the work for all of the students or do not have the extra help in the classroom they need. When teachers