Issues in Learning Disabilities with children (Special Education)

Issues in special education

2007

Legal disputes between parents and school officials can be very costly The cost is not just in dollars . It also involves costs in terms of the diversion of resources , the toll on school personnel , and , most importantly , the breakdown in the relationship between the parents and the school . The best way to deal with a legal dispute is to prevent it from occurring in the first place

In 1975 Congress passed landmark legislation designed to provide the nation 's students with disabilities with unprecedented access to

br educational services . Originally known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975 , that legislation is now known by its new title , the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997 . The statute , as amended , calls for school districts to provide students with disabilities with an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment . The law also provides students with disabilities and their parents with due process rights , including the right to contest school district decisions regarding the provision of a free appropriate public education . Consequently , since the enactment of the law in 1975 literally thousands of lawsuits have been d challenging school district decisions

The IDEA is not the only law governing special education in the schools In addition , section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the ADA provide students with disabilities with additional protections . Section 504 prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by recipients of federal funds . The ADA expands section 504 's discrimination prohibition to the private sector , but includes provisions applicable to public entities . In addition , all states currently have laws governing the provision of special education

Procedural issues

Evaluation and Classification

The IDEA requires states , and consequently school districts , to establish procedures to assure that all students with disabilities are properly identified and evaluated (IDEA , 1412 , a , 2 , 1997 . Those procedures , along with the test instruments chosen , may not be culturally or racially biased . In fact , students whose language or mode of communication is not English , must be evaluated in their native language or usual mode of communication (IDEA , 1414 , b , 3 , 1997 . The IDEA stipulates that all assessments are to be administered by trained personnel in conformance with the instructions provided by the test producer (IDEA , 1414 , b , 2 , 1997 . If a student is found to be eligible for special education , the school district is required to develop an individualized education program (IEP ) for that child , but the IEP can be invalidated if it is based on a flawed evaluation of the child (Bonadonna v . Cooperman , 1985

The student is entitled to an independent evaluation if the parents disagree with the school district 's evaluation . However , the school district is required to pay for the independent evaluation only if the parents can show that the district 's evaluation was not appropriate . If the parents do obtain an independent evaluation , the school district must consider the results of that evaluation (Assistance to the States 300 .503 , 1999 . However , that does not mean that the school district must...