Issues in special education Essay

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 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 filed 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, Â § 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, Â § 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, Â § 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, Â § 300. 503, 1999). However, that does not mean that the school district must adopt the recommendations of the independent evaluator (G. D. v. Westmoreland School District, 1991). Rights of Parents and Guardians Parents are given considerable due process rights on behalf of their children in the special education process. The intent of the IDEAis for them to become partners with school district personnel in the development of IEPs. The school district must provide the parents with proper notice before it proposes to take any action regarding the child’s identification or placement (IDEA, Â § 1415, b, 3, 1997). The parents must be invited to participate in all meetings in which the student’s evaluation or placement will be considered (Assistance to the States, Â § 300.345, 1999). If the parents disagree with any decisions made by school district personnel, they may seek resolution either through voluntary mediation or an administrative due process hearing. If the parents disagree with the final result of the administrative hearing process, they may appeal to the federal or state courts (IDEA, Â § 1415, 1997). Failure to provide parents with the rights outlined in the IDEA can invalidate an otherwise appropriate IEP (Osborne, 1996). Change in Placement Procedures Once a child has been placed in special education, that placement may not be arbitrarily changed. Again, before any change in placement may occur, the parents must be given proper notification. The child’s placement also may not be changed while any administrative due process or judicial proceedings are pending absent parental consent or a court order (IDEA, Â § 1415, j, 1997). The actual determination of what constitutes a change in placement can be tricky. For example, if a special education classroom was physically moved from one school to another as part of a school district reorganization, that would not be considered a change in placement as long as the student’s IEP could be fully implemented in the new location. By the same token, the usual movement of a student from one level to another (i. e. , elementary to middle school) is not a change in placement if the student’s IEP can be fully implemented after the change (Osborne, 1996). However, any move that would affect the IEP or its implementation would be considered a change in placement. Obviously, changing a child from a resource room situation to a substantially separate class for students with behavioral disorders would be a change in placement. The elimination of a component of the student’s educational program would also constitute a change in placement (Abney v. District of Columbia, 1988). Minor changes are allowable, however. The key to determining whether or not the change is acceptable is how the modification will affect the student’s learning (DeLeon v. Susquehanna Community School District, 1984).