Instructor S Manual 2-1

Instructor’s Manual 2-1

2

EDUCATION FOR ALL

TEXT THEMES

Diversity:

Chapter Two discusses the evolution of educational services in the United States and how federal mandates were necessary to broadly implement special education in order to meet the educational needs to all our students.

Support:

Formal:Chapter Two will describe the creation and evolution of formal education supports for individuals with disabilities through the IDEA and the laws and policies that preceded it.

Natural: The majority of supports discussed in chapter two are formal in nature. However, the authors of the text give several examples of best practice that are founded on natural supports. In addition, there is an emphasis on community based instruction and service delivery that leads to the development of natural support structures.

INSTRUCTOR’S OVERVIEW

In Chapter Two, a historical perspective regarding services for people with disabilities is presented, including various issues that influenced the passage of federal laws ensuring the educational rights of all children. Your students will explore the major mandated provisions in several federal laws designed to support students with disabilities, including multidisciplinary and nondiscriminatory assessment of educational needs, parental involvement in developing their child’s educational program, a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) provided in the least restrictive environment, and the development of an individualized educational program (IEP). Several other relevant issues, including disciplining students with disabilities, school reform movements (No Child Left Behind), and inclusive education, are also discussed. Finally, Chapter Two explores the challenges to making the promises of IDEA and NCLB a reality.

CHAPTER-AT-A-GLANCE

CHAPTER FOCUS

After studying this chapter, your students should be able to discuss their answers to the following:

Focus 1

What educational services were available to students with disabilities during most of the 20TH century?

Focus 2

Identify the principal issues in the right-to-education cases that led to the eventual passage of the national mandate to educate students with disabilities.

Focus 3

Identify five major provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Focus 4

Discuss the special education referral, assessment, planning, and placement process.

Focus 5

Identify four principals for school accountability as required in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).Under IDEA 2004, what must a student’s IEP include to ensure access to the general curriculum?

Focus 6

What does it mean to be a “highly-qualified” teacher as required in NCLB and IDEA 2004?

Focus 7

Identify three characteristics of evidence-based special education that enhance learning opportunities for students with disabilities.

Focus 8

Distinguish between students with disabilities who are eligible for services under Section 504/ADA and those eligible under IDEA.

Focus 9

Distinguish between the principles of zero tolerance and zero exclusion in America’s schools.

Focus 10

What are the challenges to making the promise of IDEA and NCLB a reality?

CHAPTER/LECTURE OUTLINE

I. ORIGINS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION – the goal of education is full participation for everyone, regardless of race, cultural background, SES, physical disability, or mental limitation. Despite this basic American value of equal access to education, it was not until 1975 that this value was put into practice for all students with disabilities in the United States.

a. Early Special Education Programs

i. Throughout most of the last three centuries, many families who had a child with a disability were unable to get help with that child’s most basic needs.

ii. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, educational programs were provided primarily in residential schools for students with physical disabilities and those who were deaf and blind.

iii. In the early 1900s, educational programs for children who were exceptional gained momentum through the efforts of many dedicated professionals.

iv. Most programs were separate from the public schools and were established mainly for children who were described as slow learners or had hearing or vision loss.

v. Students were usually placed in segregated classrooms in a public school building or in separate schools. Special education meant segregated education.

vi. Students with substantial differences were excluded from public education entirely.

b. Education as a Privilege but Not a Right

i. From 1920 to 1960, the availability of educational programs for students with disabilities continued to be sporadic and selective. Special education was allowed in many states but required by few.

ii. Services for children with mild emotional disorders were initiated in the 1930s, but mental hospitals continued to be the only alternative for most individuals with severe emotional problems.

iii. Special classes for children with physical disabilities expanded in the 1930s, primarily for those with “crippling” conditions that interfered with participation in general education programs.

iv. During the 1940s, special school versus regular school placement for students with disabilities emerged as an important policy issue.

vi. By the 1950s, many countries had begun to expand educational opportunities for students with disabilities in special schools and classes funded through public education. viii. Two events had a significant impact on the evolution of education for students with disabilities: Parents and professionals organize.

ix. The number of public school classes for students with mild intellectual disabilities and those with behavior disorders increased in the late 1950s. However, most children with mild intellectual disabilities and emotional disturbances continued to be educated in environments that isolated them from non-disabled peers.

x. The validity of segregated classes continued to be an important issue. Research in the 1950s and 1960s on the efficacy of special classes for students with mild disabilities suggested that there was little or no benefit in removing such children from general education classrooms.

xi. As a result of these studies, there was a movement toward expanding services in the public schools beyond special classrooms. For example, a model was developed in which a child could remain in the general education class program for the majority, if not all, of the day, receiving special education when and where it was needed.

c. Expanding the Role of the Federal Government

i. During the 1960s, the federal government and many universities expanded their role in the education of children who were exceptional.

II. THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION – the right of education for children with disabilities came to the public forum as part of a larger social issue: the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

a. Education was reaffirmed as a right and not a privilege by the Supreme Court in the case of Brown v. Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education (1954). Although usually heralded for striking down racial segregation, this decision also set a major precedent for the education of students with disabilities. It was a precedent that would take nearly 20 years before it was addressed by federal courts.

b. The 1970s are often described as a decade of revolution in the field of special education. Many landmark cases were brought before the courts during this period

III. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) – In 1975, Congress passed PL 94–142 (Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act), which made available a free and appropriate public education to school age (6-21) students with disabilities. In 1986, P.L. 99-457 extended the rights and protections of school-age children to pre-schoolers ages 3–5. In addition P.L. 99-457 established a state grant program for infants and toddlers. In 1990, Congress renamed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now know as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reflecting “person first” language and the national use of the term disability.

a. What Are Special Education and Related Services?

i. Referred to as the zero exclusion principle, IDEA requires that all students with disabilities receive at public expense the special education and related services necessary to meet their individual needs.

ii. Special education means specially designed instruction provided at no cost to parents in all settings, including the workplace and training centers.

iii. Related services include special transportation and other support services necessary for a student to benefit from their special education program.

b. Who Is Eligible for Special Education and Related Services?

i. In order for a student to receive the specialized services available under the IDEA the student must meet two criteria: the student must be identified as having one of the thirteen disability conditions identified in the federal law and corresponding state rules and regulations, and the student must demonstrate a need for special education and related services.

c. Major Provisions of IDEA

i. A Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

ii. Nondiscriminatory and Multidisciplinary Assessment

iii. Parental Safeguards and Involvement

iv. Individualized Education Program (IEP)

v. Education in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

d. The Special Education Referral, Assessment, Planning, and Placement Process – Mandated by IDEA to ensure that all eligible students with disabilities receive a FAPE.

i. Phase I—Initiating the Referral—This process can begin at different times for different students.

ii. Phase II—Assessing Student Eligibility and Educational Need

iii. Phase III—Developing the Individualized Education Program (IEP)

iv. Phase IV—Determining the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

IV. CURRENT TRENDS IN THE EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES – In the past three decades, four major factors have affected students’ opportunities for a free and appropriate public education in American schools. The major influences are (1) the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and IDEA 2004; (2) evidence-based special education practice; (3) ensuring reasonable accommodations for students under Section 504/ADA; and (4) establishing safe schools.

a. NCLB and IDEA 2004: From Access to Accountability

i. Standards and School Accountability

ii. NCLB and IDEA 2004: What It Means to Be a “Highly Qualified” Teacher

b. Characteristics of Evidence-Based Special Education Practice

i. Individualization – student-centered approach to instructional decision making

ii. Intensive Instruction – frequent instructional experiences of significant duration

iii. The Explicit Teaching of Academic, Adaptive, and/or Functional Life Skills

c. Providing Reasonable Accommodations under Section 504/ADA

i. Schools must provide supports and services to two groups of students with disabilities.

d. Safe Schools: Zero Tolerance Versus Zero Exclusion – a safe school environment has become a critical priority for parents, school personnel, policy makers, and government officials.

i. One out of every 620 school-aged children is killed by gunfire before the age of 20. Eight percent of America’s children are victims of crime at school each year.

ii. In 1994 Congress passed the Guns Free School Act that mandates that every state receiving federal education funds must enact a law that requires all LEAs to expel (for at least one year) any student who brings a firearm to school.

V. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES TO MAKING THE PROMISES OF IDEA AND NCLB A REALITY?

DISCUSSION AND ASSIGNMENT TOPICS

Lecture Note I.a.Early special education programs were offered primarily in segregated classrooms. If the student’s deviation from his or her peers without disabilities was too substantial, he or she was likely excluded from public education entirely.

Instruct students to research and write a report on the availability and nature of services available to students with significant and severe disabilities in the early and middle of the twentieth century. Have students address how various psychological perspectives on disability have resulted in changes in the educational opportunities for individuals with exceptionalities.

Lecture Note II. A number of court cases have had a significant impact on the provision of educational services to individuals with exceptionalities.

Divide the class into groups and instruct them to create a presentation about the facts that framed the case, the courts findings, and how the findings have impacted special education services.

Lecture Note III.b. In order to receive special education services a student must meet two criteria: identification as having one of the thirteen recognized disabling conditions and demonstration of a need for special education services.

Divide the class into thirteen groups and have them research and prepare a brief report on one of the disability conditions recognized under IDEA.

Lecture Note III.c. IDEA is based on the value that every student can learn.

Lead the class in a discussion about their own beliefs on who can and cannot learn, and what barriers exist to learning in the educational and social structure in America today.

Lecture Note III.c. IDEA mandated that children with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. To meet this mandate, schools have developed services ranging from placement in general education classrooms to homebound and hospital programs. Supporters of segregated facilities believe that better programs can be provided by housing all services for students under one roof. Inclusionists believe that students being prepared to live in the community should be educated in that community with their peers.

Have each student write an editorial or letter to the editor, arguing a personal position on the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings. Ask students to gather information concerning the special education services available in their communities. Where are students with various types of disabilities educated?

Lecture Note III.c. An individualized education program (IEP) provides an opportunity for parents and professionals to join together in designing a program that meets the individual needs of each student.

Show the class examples of IEPs. Since students in general education are often provided instruction as if they learn at the same pace and in the same manner, have class members discuss whether individualizing instruction for general education students would be beneficial, as well. How could this be achieved, considering the number of students in a regular classroom and the variability from one student to the next?