The Role Of Legislation

1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s, there was change in society’s attitudes toward people with disabilities. In the 1940s, children with learning disabilities were shown to be different from children who were disabled by researchers such as Alfred Strauss. In the Brown vs. Board of education court case in 1954, led the way to a growing understanding that all people, regardless of race, gender, or disability, have a right to public education. In 1960s, Samuel Kirk began to use the term specific learning disabilities to differentiate students with learning disabilities from the much larger group of students who were low achievers or mentally disabled. In 1960s,

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 case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), found that education was an important function. The courts viewed education as playing an important role in the future of the United States and since states chose to provide it, education then is a right that must be available to all on equal terms ( (Murdick, Gartin, & Fowler, 2014). The question of equal terms has been an uphill battle for families that have children with disabilities. There were many acts that addressed educational issues of children with disabilities. The elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 was created to improve education for children that were disadvantaged and it expanded funding. 1974 Education of the Handicapped

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

In the early 1970’s parents of students with disabilities went to federal court when their local school districts did not provide services to meet their children’s educational needs. In Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971), a Pennsylvania court ruled that all children, regardless of disability, have a basic right to an education under the Fourteenth Amendment. In Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972), a federal court ruled that the District of Columbia schools could not exclude children with disabilities from the public schools. Cases like this focused public attention on the issue of educating children with disabilities. The social and political pressure then resulted in landmark federal legislation to address the educational rights of these children.

“The Warnock Report in 1978, Followed by the 1981 Education Act, Radically changed the conceptualization of Special Educational Needs” (The Stationery Office (HMSO), 2006b; pg.11). Moving onto the current

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,

By working in partnership with professional colleagues, can help to overcome perceived boundaries between services and organisations,

If a student is both an English language learner and has a learning disability, their educational needs become inherently more complex. However, through research on the needs of English language learners with disabilities, on various case laws, and by participating in lectures on the topics of English language learners and students with learning disabilities, I have come to a clearer understanding of these unique needs as well as the processes necessary to identify, evaluate, and work with these students. Prior to the 1960s, both English language learners and students with disabilities were often segregated from their peers, given inadequate instruction, and inappropriately assessed (Ortiz, Woika, 2013). This began to change when, with the holding of Brown vs. board of Education (1954), a principle for equal educational opportunities for all students was brought to fruition (Yell, 1998). After this decision, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 prohibited the discrimination of people on the basis of race, color, or national origin in the operation of federally assisted programs. Further, to

Funding for special education students is, and historically, has always been, a complicated issue. Most people believe the federal government funds special education in the United States. “Understanding Special Education Funding” (2009), states that, on average, most states estimate that the federal government provides less than 15% of the money needed to fund special education services. This, in turn, leaves local school systems responsible for funding the remaining portion of special education services. This paper examines the history of special education laws and funding, the wide variance of funding that exists from state to state, and the problems created by a lack of funding.

First policy to analyze is “Specific Criminalization of Damaging Critical Infrastructure Computers”. This policy makes attacks that affect confidentially, integrity and availability to a critical infrastructure computer illegal and punishable by jail time and

For most of our nation's history, children with special needs or disabilities were shunted aside. In spite of mandated education laws that had been in place since 1918, many students were denied education and

The development of legislation from the point of conception to actual bill language, to legislative assignment and review, consideration by Assembly and/or Senate, and becoming law is a multi-faceted process that consists of several specific steps. Given the complicated nature of this process, it sometimes frustrates stakeholders in light of time consumed, probable constant revisions of the language, and issues that may arise in different legislative committees and special interest groups. Consequently, the process in the development of legislation has been described using various terms including laborious task and mysterious routine. Actually, individuals who engage in the development of legislation state that it is usually a very difficult and time consuming process.

Only through extensive advocacy and incessant effort by supporters of nondiscriminatory practices was the Federal government able to intervene and decide court cases in favor of the plaintiff’s who sought equality in society. In fact, one 1950’s court decision revolutionized the realm of special education and helped positively effectuate today’s legal standard of nondiscrimination and equality.

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