INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL

EDUCATION AND THE SIX

PRINCIPLES

A HISTORY OF
DISCRIMINATION
Before special education law was passed - The special educational needs of children with
disabilities were not being fully met;
More than 1/2 of children with disabilities did
not receive appropriate educational services
that would enable them to have full equality of
opportunity

A HISTORY OF
DISCRIMINATION CONT.
1,000,000 children with disabilities were
excluded and did not go through the
educational process with their peers
there were many children with disabilities
participating in regular school programs whose
disabilities prevented them from having a
successful educational experience because their
disabilities were undetected
3

A HISTORY OF
DISCRIMINATION CONT.
Because of the lack of adequate services within
the public school system, families were often
forced to find services outside the public school
system, often at great distance from their
residence and at their own expense

A HISTORY OF
DISCRIMINATION CONT.
In 1972, two federal courts ordered
Pennsylvania and District of Columbia to
provide a free appropriate public education
to all students with disabilities
Advocates began lobbying Congress for
federal law and federal money

A HISTORY OF
DISCRIMINATION CONT.
In 1975, President Ford signed the
Education of All Handicapped Children Act
of 1975, known as Public Law 94-142
This law is now called Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

INDIVIDUALS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT
IDEA guarantees students with disabilities a
free appropriate public education (FAPE) for
students three through 21
There is another federal law for infants with
disabilities -- serves birth through two
To receive federal money, state and local
agencies must agree to comply with federal
law
7

INDIVIDUALS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT CONT.
The term special education means specially
designed instruction, at no cost to parents,
to meet the unique needs of a child with a
disability, including
Instruction conducted in the classroom, in the
home, in hospitals and institutions and in other
settings; and
Instruction in physical education
8

INDIVIDUALS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT CONT.
Related services are also provided at no cost
to the parent. These include:
transportation, and such developmental,
corrective, and other supportive services,
including speech-language pathology and
audiology services, psychological services,
physical and occupational therapy,
recreation, including therapeutic recreation,
9

INDIVIDUALS WITH
DISABILITIES ACT CONT.
Related services continued -- social work
services, counseling services, including
rehabilitation counseling, orientation and
mobility services, and medical services,
except that such medical services shall be
for diagnostic an evaluation purposes only.

10

SIX PRINCIPLES OF SPECIAL

EDUCATION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Zero reject
Nondiscriminatory evaluation
Appropriate education
Least restrictive environment
Parent and student participation
Procedural due process
11

ZERO REJECT
Rule against excluding any student
Cannot exclude no matter how severe the
disability
Cannot expel students whose behavior is a
manifestation of their disability

12

ZERO REJECT CONT.

Cannot exclude children who have
contagious diseases from education with
other students unless there is a high risk that
the contagious student will infect other
students
Also a zero reject law for adults with
disabilities -- Americans with Disabilities
Act, (ADA), enacted in 1990
13

NONDISCRIMINATORY
EVALUATION
Rule requiring schools to evaluate students
fairly to determine if they have a disability
and, if so, what kind and how extensive a
disability they have
Requires state and local agencies to
evaluate students in such a way that
strengths and weaknesses are revealed
14

NONDISCRIMINATORY
EVALUATION CONT.
There is a history of discrimination -- often
non-English speaking students were
administered English language tests
These tests did not reveal the students
strengths but instead showed that the student
had major deficits
In addition, the tests administered were
normed on white middle-class students
15

NONDISCRIMINATORY
EVALUATION CONT.
These tests are inappropriate for students
from impoverished socioeconomic
backgrounds or who were from a different
cultural background
Purpose of nondiscriminatory evaluation -to determine if a student has a disability and
that the student needs special education and
related services
16

NONDISCRIMINATORY
EVALUATION CONT.
Three steps in evaluating a student
Screening
Prereferral
Referral

Last step -- IDEAs nondiscriminatory

evaluation procedures -- all tests used must
be reliable and valid
17

NONDISCRIMINATORY
EVALUATION CONT.
Given the disproportionate number of
students from minority backgrounds in
special education, it is extremely important
during preferral to distinguish between
cultural and language differences and
learning problems

18

NONDISCRIMINATORY
EVALUATION CONT.
FACT -- once students are identified about
98% are likely to remain in special
education for their entire academic career!
A teachers decision to refer should be
based ONLY on the students needs -- not on
the teachers

19

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
Rule requiring schools to provide
individually tailored education for each
student based on the evaluation and
augmented by related or supplementary
services
Key is individualization

20

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
The IEP must
be reviewed periodically, but not less than
annually, to determine whether the annual goals
for the child are being met
must include present levels of educational
performance, including how the disability
affects the childs involvement and progress in
the general curriculum
21

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
For preschool children, the IEP must include
how the disability affects the childs
participation in appropriate activities
A statement of measurable annual goals,
including benchmarks or short-term objectives,
related to meeting the childs needs that result
from the childs disability to enable the child to
be involved in and progress in the general
curriculum
22

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
Statement of special education and related
services and supplementary services to be
provided to the child
Explanation of the extent, if any, to which the
child will not participate with nondisabled
children in the regular class
Statement of modifications in the administration
of State or district-wide assessments of student
achievement
23

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
Statement of the program modifications or
supports that will be provided for the child to
advance appropriately toward attaining the
annual goals, to be involved in and progress in
the general curriculum and extracurricular and
other nonacademic activities and to be educated
and participate with other children with
disabilities and nondisabled children
24

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
If the IEP team determines that the child will
not participate in a State or district-wide
assessment, there must be a statement of why
that assessment is not appropriate and how the
child will be assessed
Projected date for beginning of the services and
modifications
The anticipated frequency, location and duration
of services and modifications
25

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
Statement of how childs progress toward
annual goals will be measured
Statement of how parents will be regularly
informed at least as often as parents are
informed of their nondisabled childrens
progress of
their childs progress toward annual goals
extent to which progress is sufficient to enable the
child to achieve the goals by the end of the year
26

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
Dont need parent consent for an IEP -except at initial placement ARD
Parents must be invited to participate in the
process
Short-term objectives or benchmarks must
include the condition under which the
behavior will occur, behavioral description,
and criterion or level of mastery
27

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
IEP must specify kind of assessment and
evaluation schedule
Two other I plans - Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) - for
children with disabilities birth through two
Individual Transition Plan (ITP) coordinated
set of transition activities must be addressed by
16th birthday and annually at ARD
28

APPROPRIATE EDUCATION
CONT.
Supreme Court decisions regarding
appropriate education - Amy Rowley was entitled to an education that
benefits her, not to one that develops her to the
maximum potential
Ambur Tatro was entitled to clean intermittent
cathetherization as a related service

29

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT
Rule requiring schools to educate students
with disabilities with nondisabled students to
the maximum extent appropriate
One of the most important and controversial
elements of special education reform
School may not remove student from general
education unless he/she cannot be educated
successfully there
30

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Reasons for LRE
Supreme Court created the principle as a matter
of constitutional law
There is a long history of segregation
There is evidence that many students with
disabilities can be educated effectively in
general ed classes

31

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Any kind of segregation in education
(especially when minority students were too
often misclassified into special education)
simply runs against the grain of the U.S.
Constitution, which seeks to treat all people
equally
Continuum of services -- schools must offer a
range of services from less to more restrictive
32

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
LRE has been very difficult for courts to
interpret -- people disagree about its meaning
In early years, courts generally concluded that
the greater or more extensive the students
disability and the need for academic or
rehabilitative services, the more separate and
less inclusive the students education should be

33

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
More recent cases have taken into account
social and physical inclusion
Daniel R.R. vs. State Board of Education, 1989
Very important case from Texas
Required schools to furnish supplementary aids and
services to make curriculum adjustments for the
student before removing him/her to more special,
less inclusive program

34

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Neighborhood schools -- many parents and
advocates want students with disabilities to be
educated in their neighborhood schools
Clearly, the trend is toward inclusion

35

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Inclusion -- not the law -- LRE is the law
Basic components of inclusion - All students attend school where they would
attend if they did not have a disability
Proportion of students with and without
disabilities in general classroom is the same as
in the school district
Age and grade appropriate placement
36

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Zero reject philosophy for general classroom
Intensified support services available for
general education
Cooperative learning and peer tutoring
emphasized
Goal -- student is a member of the class -- not a
visitor

37

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Inclusion:
Focuses on abilities and possibilities -- NOT on
disabilities and limitations
Is a daily, ongoing process -- NOT just
mainstreaming for art, lunch, music and PE
Is characterized by gentleness,
individualization, openness and humor -- it is
NOT rigid, regimented or authoritarian
38

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Is solution oriented -- it is about discovering
what is possible -- NOT placing the blame,
getting stuck or giving up
Means no one is rejected or locked out -everyone has different skills, talents and gifts to
offer

39

LEAST RESTRICTIVE
ENVIRONMENT CONT.
Essentials for inclusive schools Curriculum adaptation
Instructional strategies like cooperative
learning and peer instruction
Redeployment of staff
Collaboration among teachers
Professional development
Use of trained paraprofessionals
40

PARENT AND STUDENT

PARTICIPATION
Rule requiring schools to collaborate with
parents and adolescent students in designing
and carrying out special education programs
Parent participation was strengthened in
IDEA Reauthorization 1997

41

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

Provides safeguards for students against
schools actions, including a right to sue in
court
Key aspects of due process

Opportunity to examine records

Participation in meetings
Parent involvement in placement decisions
Independent educational evaluation
42

PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS

CONT.

Prior notice
Parent consent
Mediation
Impartial due process hearing
Surrogate parent
Procedural safeguards notice

43

PARENT CONSENT
Parents give consent three different times:
Initial consent for assessment
Initial consent for placement in special
education
Reevaluation

44

INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL
EDUCATION AND THE SIX
PRINCIPLES

45