Special education law

1. Chapter 2
Special Education Today:
An Unfinished History
Based on: Special Education for Today’s Teachers: An Introduction,
by Rosenberg, Westling, and McLeskey (second edition)

2. Chapter 2 Questions
• What is the social history of special education?
• What are the major components of IDEA?
• How do Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) assist
students with special needs?
• What are relevant characteristics of NCLB?

3. History of Special Education
Before 1950
• Teachers / Schools / Organizations
• Eugenics / Institutionalization
1950 – 1972
• Civil Rights Movement
• Litigation
1972 – Present
• Legislation
• Access to Education

4. Then and Now
Now
• Most children with
disabilities are educated in
their neighborhood school in
general education classrooms.
• Employment rates of
individuals with disabilities
have doubled.
• The number of first-year
college students with
disabilities has more than
tripled.
1970
• No guarantee of free
appropriate public education.
• Approximately 1 million
children between 7-17 were
not enrolled in school.
• Schools educated only 1 in 5
children with disabilities
• Many states excluded
students with certain
disabilities.
• Institutions “housed”
approximately 200,000
individuals with disabilities.

5. • Free Appropriate Public Education
• Least Restrictive Environment
• Individualized Education Plan
• Nondiscriminatory Assessment
• Parent Participation
• Procedural Safeguards
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA)

6. Special Education Related Legislation
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act - Protects
individuals with disabilities from discrimination.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -
Broadens the agencies and businesses that must
comply.
• Neither law provides for an individualized
educational program that meets child's unique
needs and provides educational benefit.

7. No Child Left Behind (NCLB)*
• Accountability for Results
• Evidence-Based Teaching
• Highly Qualified Teachers
*Every Student Succeeds Act
Starting 2017-18