The Pros And Cons Of The Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act

There are a number of landmark court cases of special education in the country that have become the basis of how we currently provide services to students with disabilities. Diana v. California State Board of Education (1970) and Larry P. v. Riles (1984) are two of these landmark court cases that highlight nondiscriminatory assessments. Below is the analysis of the two court cases in four major sections: The Legal Cases, Summary, Future Practice, and Comparison and Contrasts.

The Americans with Disabilities Act has come a long way with helping to protect and obtaining justice for the disable opening the door for jobs and creating more adequate access to public spaces to an estimated 43 million disabled people however, corrective disabilities are more of a challenge. People whose disabilities that can be remedied with eyeglasses, medications, etc. are not covered by the ADA (Post, 1999). Justice Sandra Day O’Conner supports this action and wrote three provisions that led to the conclusion that remediable conditions are not a disability (Post, 1999).

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

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the most significant laws in American History. Before the ADA was passed, employers were able to deny employment to a disabled worker, simply because he or she was disabled. With no other reason other than the person's physical disability, they were turned away or released from a job. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. The act guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA not only opened the door for

Educators must understand and respect the legal rights of students and their parents, which are protected by the U.S. Constitution/Fourteenth Amendment. The Individuals with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protect students who have been identified with disabilities. According to both IDEA and Section 504, all special education students must be educated in the least restrictive environment. The two provisions also mandate that that all children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education, which is referred to as FAPE. This essay will answer the question, "what is FAPE and why is it so important in the education of all children, especially students with disabilities?"

How has the entitlement to FAPE been defined through litigation and legislation and what has the effect been for students with disabilities?

There have also been landmark court cases like Brown v Board of Education and Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Pennsylvania (PARC) which as a result set the wheels in motion for special education reform. The Education for Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA) in 1990, has had the greatest impact on special education in public schools. When the law was originally passed in 1975 it required all school districts that accepted federal funds to provide disabled students, ages 5-21, equal access to an education in the least restrictive (LRE) setting possible. Schools were to also disperse funds equally among all students and provide free of charge, the necessary

The provision of resources to handicapped children is subject to a wide variety of federal and state laws and statutes. However, due the varied and spectacular range of disabilities and combination of disabilities it is often difficult to easily decide who should receive benefits and who should not. Often debated both within the court system, and without, is the subject of whether the child with a severe disability can actually benefit from the services and resources being allocated to that student. Timothy W. V. Rochester School District addresses just that issue referred to as “Zero Reject.”

In 2004 the case of Deal v. Hamilton County Board of Education was coming to a close after reaching the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Ohio. Within this essay, detailed examination of this case, along with issues that developed the case, disagreement points, parties involved, and final outcome will be explored. This case was initiated in 1999 and reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 2004. The Individuals with Disabilities Act has given parents and caregivers to student’s unparalleled

As stated by the founding fathers of America “All men are created equal.” Black, white, brown, short, tall, smart, and dumb, all are created equally. Therefore every person deserves fair judgement. Unfortunately, it is a profound fact that not everyone is born normal and capable of task typical for a common person, who is free from disability. In my opinion, the quote “All men are created equal” serves to promote a friendly environment that helps encourage equality among people and aids to recognize the similarities rather than the differences that separates men. Even so, with this hope, the disabled community still struggles for equality. According to Legal Rights by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), “Almost 10 percent of all

Artifact number four will review a scenario in which a seasoned high school principal refuses a disabled student education due to extraordinary expense and a view that the school might not be the best placement for Jonathan. The topics discussed all pertain to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), Cedar Rapids v Garret, Board of Education v Holland, and Timothy v Rochester. The facts that will be reviewed in this information will be discussed which could be used to defend Young’s decision, but make sure that Jonathan’s rights are not being stepped on.

With Disabilities Education Act." Focus On Exceptional Children43.2 (2010): 1-16. Academic Search Premier. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.

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

The Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EHA) had an overall goal of desegregating disabled children in schools, as well as work on integrating them in classrooms with their non-disabled peers. Until the Civil Rights Movement, not much attention was brought to the fact that children with disabilities had very little rights and were kept isolated and not given a proper education, if any at all. Because of the attention brought to the poor and unjust treatment of children with disabilities and the significant court cases dealing with the fourteenth amendment such as Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia, The EHA was passed in 1975. There were high hopes for this act, including keeping disabled students integrated

A story that especially resonated with me was from the reading “Voices from the Edge: Narratives about the Americans with Disabilities Act” called “A Chair Unseen” (O’Brien, 2004). It is an extremely saddening story about a man, Felix, who had been repeatedly neglected job interviews, purely based on his disability. Employers believed that if they brought him in for an interview, and he didn’t get the job, Felix would sue them for discrimination. He even had to change his reference letters because they only focused on this disability and how he was strong and smart despite his inability to walk. Additionally, he had to avoid talking about his disability during his interview, in fear of being denied the position because of it. This disability is an aspect of his identity, and he had to avoid talking about it. It is very saddening to think he has to hide a big part of himself from his potential future employers, without being certain that they will hire him just for his qualifications. People with disabilities should have equal employment opportunities to those without disabilities.