Separate Cannot Be Equal - the Effect This Has on Special Education - Case Study Example

What court case decision clarified that “separate cannot be equal”? Explain the affect this court case continues to have on the field of special education? The ruling was made by Brown V. of the board of education of Topeka in Kansas that separate cannot be equal. It meant that having students with special needs in different classrooms does not mean they are receiving the best possible education. The ruling of this court case has impacted greatly in the field of special education as separation of disabled in schools children has stopped. All children are being handled in the inclusion class to help them interact and socialize with other students. The syllabus learnt by students with special needs is the same as those learnt by others. The inclusion of all children in the same class has necessitated the use of learning aids to help children with special needs in the learning process. Training of teachers has also been intensified to enable teachers in regular classes handle both students with special needs and those without special needs at the same time. Compare and contrast IDEA, Section 504, and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990.    The three, IDEA, section 504 and ADA are legislations aimed at protecting the people with disabilities in various aspects. Thus, they are similar in that they all advocate for the rights of those with disabilities. The application of each of the law is what makes them different. IDEA is a federally funded law that provides financial assistance to the state and local education agencies to aid in the provision of special education to the disabled children and other services that these children require. IDEA added autism and traumatic brain injury to the Education of Handicapped Act to enable those suffering from these disabilities to access special education like other special needs children. Section 504, unlike IDEA, is not federally funded. The 504 law is against discrimination of the handicapped persons in programs and activities funded by the federal government whether in the private or public sector. The ADA on the other hand, unlike IDEA and section 504, caters for both the rights of the handicapped in the private and public sector. The ADA law prohibits discrimination of the disabled in employment, public service and accommodation. While IDEA covers only children of between 3-21 years of age with disabilities, ADA and section 504 protects all persons who qualify as being disabled through having a physical or mental impairment. What are three groups of students who need special supports but who are NOT eligible for services under IDEA? How does this ineligibility affect the education of these groups of students?  One group of children that is left out in the services of IDEA are students aged 22 years and above. Not all students with special needs are through with their education by the age of 22 years, thus they are cut out from the IDEA service after 21 years. Students who are drug addicts are also left out as long as they are not currently using the drugs. Also left out from IDEA are students with temporary disabilities arising from accidents thus requiring short term hospitalization or home bound recovery. The education of these groups of students left out is affected greatly by their ineligibility to access services of IDEA. Students above 22years of age are unable to access services, thus not able to access educational services for the disabled. For drug and alcohol addicts, the effects of drug addiction is still weighing on them affecting their concentration and school performance. If the addicts could get help through eligibility in IDEA, their performance in school and social life would improve. The students suffering from temporary disability due to accidents are left behind in the school work. When the students are hospitalized or undergoing homebound recovery, they are not able to attend classes and do not receive extra lessons to help them catch up. If these students were to be included in the list of requirements for eligibility to IDEA, they would be able to receive home tutors temporary as they recover to help them catch up in school work. What are the five critical issues addressed by NCLB? Discuss the provision that is most significant and the implications it has for students with disabilities and the professionals who work with them. The no child left behind act by NCLB has increased awareness of the poor performance in schools, especially those in disadvantaged areas and those with disabilities. The awareness has led to focus on reforms in schools to reduce school dropouts of both students with disabilities and those without disabilities. Thus the students are better prepared for life. The legislation by NCLB also advocates for stronger accountability for results. NCLB requires public accountability in all public schools based on challenging state standards. Required also is annual testing for students in grade 3-8 and once between the 10-12 grades. Increased flexibility and local control: Flexibility and local control allow for adjustment of the learning environment to fit the needs of children with special needs. Every division should have the control to be able to fit resources necessary to serve students with special needs in the schools locally. Expanded options for parents: Parents now have more options for their children with various disabilities. The NCLB increased options through advocating for more inclusive classrooms that accommodate both students with special needs and students without special needs. Emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work: Not all teaching methods work for students with disabilities, thus the use of inclusive methods is necessary. NCLB requires adoption of teaching methods that will work for different groups of children depending with their needs, thus ensuring better performance of all schools across the country. A continuum of placements is the term used for the options for education students with disabilities. Compare and contrast the general educational setting and the resource setting.  Which do you feel is a more effective setting? Why?  The general education setting is where students with disabilities are placed in general classes with other students of the same age group. The students learn together, but special attention is given to the students with disabilities to help them understand almost as well as other students. Learning aids are provided to the special needs children. On the other hand, resource setting is where children with disabilities are placed in a special school or classroom with other students with similar disabilities. The students receive special attention from teachers and professionals to help them develop according to their needs. Resource setting will see trained professionals in the specific disability handle students. The general education setting is more effective than the resource setting. Though the resource setting will see the students receive professional care from trained professionals, they are not able to interact with other peers. In the general education system, the students with special needs are able to interact with other peers who may not be having any disabilities. The interaction with peers helps develop social skills enabling them cope better with the outside world once they leave the special school. Also, the general educational setting gives students with special needs a feeling of inclusivity and no discriminatory feeling. When students are placed in resource setting, the students feel discriminated against. Differentiate between mediation and due process. What are the implications of these procedures for parents?  Mediation is the voluntary process for dispute resolution between parents and other parties concerning their children with special needs. The parties come to an agreement with the help of a neutral mediator and a legally binding agreement is prepared to that effect. Follow up may be necessary to iron out issues arising from the implementation process. On the other hand, due process is the process of formally hearing disputes over a child’s special needs identification, evaluation or service. This step of due process in most cases is undertaken after the mediation process fails. Parents and school divisions can request for a due process concerning any child with special needs when they are not satisfied with how the child is being handled by the professional in charge. In mediation, both parties have a chance to give their opinion and an agreement is reached that favors both parties. There is room for negotiations in mediation so that the views of the parent can be heard and to some extend be implemented. On the other hand, in due process, the judge’s decision has to be adhered to the letter. The decision is final and can only be reviewed by civil action to review the decision. What is disproportionate representation? Explain why this issue has been and continue to be such a hot topic, within the field of special education. Disproportionate Representation exists when the number of students from one race or ethnic group with special needs in a school exceeds the expected ratio based on the enrollment of students from the given race or ethnicity. The ratio of children with disabilities in all races and ethnic groups is expected to be the same. Therefore, when there is disproportionate representation, the ratio exceeds the expectation citing some abnormality in the system. The issue of disproportionate representation is widely debated in the field of special education since it contradicts the expectation of the actual chances of disability occurrence in all races. Disproportionate representation can thus be said to be as a result of bias system of identification of disabilities in children. When the system is not working the same way across all groups, it is discriminatory and may lead to stigmatization of students from certain groups. However, some argue that disproportionate representation is a result of factors causing disability being common in a given group thus leading to more occurrence of disability. How does culture affect the learning process? In what ways has culture influenced your role as a professional in dealing with individuals of different cultures?  Cultural background has a major impact on the learning process for students. Students tend to carry their cultural believes and practice to classrooms. Therefore a classroom is comprised of students with various cultural beliefs and practices affecting their participation in class, attitude and level of concentration. Some students have individualistic while others have collective cultural perspective on education. As a professional, I have to embrace diversity in teaching to accommodate students from all cultures. In some an understanding of cultural diversity is a necessity to enable professionals deal with cultural diversity of students. When dealing with students of different culture, guidance and professionalism are necessary when dealing with the students. Guiding the children may help improve their attitude towards education while professionalism will ensure a good working relationship with students. Depending on the cultural background of the student, the role of the profession can change to that of a mentor shaping the education and career path of the students. Reference Friend M. 2011). Special Education: Contemporary Perspectives for School Professionals, 3rd Edition.Merril publisher. Read More