The Victims Of Children With Disabilities

The two important court rulings were the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1971 and Mills vs. The Board of Education of the District of Columbia in 1972 (ERIC Clearinghouse, 1998). These court decisions showed that “the responsibility of States and local school districts to educate individuals with disabilities is derived from the equal protection law of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”(ERIC Clearinghouse, 1998, n.p.)

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

People with disabilities have not been treated fairly in the past. I believe that that those with disabilities have been treated worse than the elderly. They were not allowed to go to school with the normal kids; they were not allowed to work at most jobs. They were teased and made fun of, sometimes there were rejected by their own families. When they were in the mental hospitals they were treated very harsh, they sometimes had to go through shock therapy. Even though they are different types of disabilities, if was something that was noticeable you were treated different, as if you did not belong.

Prior to 1940’s, People with disabilities were excluded from society and were considered unable to learn. They are often placed in institutions under custodial care, considered unable to learn or benefit from regular educational programs. However, as early as in 1800s, some educators like Samuel Gridley Howe disagreed, believing that children with disabilities could learn and should have an education, not just custodial care.

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.

Throughout history there have been many educational mandates and laws in which have provided more opportunities for equal educational access. Section 504, the first Civil Rights Law for protection of students with disabilities was signed into law in 1973. This paved the way to many rights for students with disabilities to have a Free, Appropriate, Public, Education. This law in essence means, no program, that receives federal funds, can discriminate based upon their disability in which substantially limits one more more major life functions. Throughout this paper I will be reviewing the historical perspective on Section 504, the federal and state mandates, legal cases pertaining to Section 504, current issues, and applying the information to my current districts implementation of 504 plans.

From Dorothea Dix in the 1800’s to Frank Bowe and the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD) in the 1970’s, many disability rights activist tried to win support for anti-discrimination laws. Many times, it was the parent advocates at the forefront, who were demanding that their children be taken out of institutions and asylums, and

Throughout history, disabled people have been profoundly discriminated against. Our society today has become more accepting of people for who they are, but there are still many challenges in this area. In his short story “The Scarlet Ibis,” Hurst works to raise awareness and sensitivity towards children and other people with disabilities by demonstrating how disabled children were generally treated in this time period, by illuminating how the narrator eventually makes connections with his special needs brother, Doodle, and by painting a vivid picture of how the unattainable expectations placed upon Doodle became too much for him to bear.

…“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)

The idea of children with disabilities, whether they be mild or severe has been a very controversial and misunderstood topic. In the past inclusion has brought about huge changes for not only the students, but also the parents and families of these children, and staff at schools. Teachers and education professionals were the first to really feel the wrath and intimidation of this dramatic shift in education. There were several different factors that were coming about that made it very difficult for schools and teachers, the unorganized mandates were strict and didn’t allow much time for change. “President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) into law in 1975. Since the original passage of the EAHCA, the law has been amended four times and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (Conroy, Yell, Katsiyannis, & Collins, 2010, para.1).

Those with disabilities were treated very unalike than those without a disability in the 19th Century than those in today’s world. If you had a disability you were treated unfairly and differently than others without a disability. You were not allowed to work, and you received almost all your money from public funds, like Poor Law Relief. Children and adults with disabilities were mostly dependent on medical professionals for cures and treatments. In the late 19th century, scientists, writers, and politicians began to use Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and natural selection to help with their research. They thought that they would be able to “improve the quality of the human race” by selective breeding. They argued that people with disabilities would weaken the nation and reduce “competitiveness.” Even professionals were uncertain of how to help people with disabilities, and they did not know how they would respond to certain things, so they decided to lock them away in institutions. Individuals with disabilities were hidden in institutions for almost their entire lifetime. The children and adults with disabilities went to separate schools and day centers that were made for the sole purpose of keeping

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

If there is something that cannot be disputed by any single individual is the prevalence of disabilities in the world. What people may not be so informed upon is the types of handicaps that exist and how those who either have them or know people that do, deal with them. Having disabilities in the past used to come with much negativity and discrimination for people generally weren’t accepting and cognizant of all the possible elements of life. However, with the increased availability of literature on the matter, more people have started to become aware and realize that handicaps shouldn’t be viewed in this demeaning manner, in turn, they are becoming more understanding and compassionate. Impressions start young, so it is extremely beneficial for the information about disabilities to start in children’s books. As kids become

The disabled have been treated rather poorly throughout history. They experienced mistreatment from wars, bad leaders, and other circumstances during many time periods. One huge mistreatment of the disabled was during World War II when Hitler murdered millions of Jews, gypsies, disabled, and the ill. In the article, Treatment of Disabled People Throughout History, the author wrote, “In 1939, amid World War Two, Hitler ordered a wide spread 'mercy killing' of the sick and disabled.” This further shows how poorly they were treated. There have also been major changes and laws that have made a good impact on the lives and improvement of the disabled. There have been institutions made for the blind, hard of hearing, and other disabilities. There

A second law dealing with special needs students is section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act requires that schools, which receive federal funding, provide equal education to all handicapped children in the schools jurisdiction (W.E.A.C, 2001). This act also requires that handicapped children be educated with other children who are not handicapped to the maximum extent (W.E.A.C, 2001). This requirement clearly points to inclusion as the best option available for handicapped students, in the opinion of the federal government. Section 504 has helped handicapped people in other areas as well. The act requires that public buildings make architectural changes to increase accessibility for those with special needs (Choate, 1997). This part of the act was important because it put an end to school?s using the structure of the school building as an excuse for providing an unequal education to those children who were handicapped or disabled.