User:Elena.L518/Special Education in the United States

Special education in the United States enables students with exceptional learning needs to access resources through special education programs. These programs did not always exist. "The idea of excluding students with any disability from public school education can be traced back to 1893, when the Massachusetts Supreme Court expelled a student merely due to poor academic ability". This exclusion would be the basis of education for all individuals with special needs for years to come. In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education sparked the belief that the right to a public education applies to all individuals regardless of race, gender, or disability. Finally, special education programs in the United States were made mandatory in 1975 when the United States Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) "(sometimes referred to using the acronyms EAHCA or EHA, or Public Law (PL) 94-142) was enacted by the United States Congress in 1975, in response to discriminatory treatment by public educational agencies against students with disabilities." The EAHCA was later modified to strengthen protections to students with disabilities and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA requires states to provide special education and related services consistent with federal standards as a condition of receiving federal funds.

IDEA entitles every student to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). To ensure a FAPE, a team of professionals from the local educational agency and the student's parents to identify the student's unique educational needs, develop annual goals for the student, and determine the placement, program modification, testing accommodations, counseling, and other special services which meet the student's needs. Parents are supposed to be equal participants in this process as well as others that are knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the data collected through the evaluation, and all placement options. The student's plan, to include the above items, is recorded in a written Individualized Education Program (IEP). The child's placement is typically determined by the annual assessment, based on the child's IEP, and as close in proximity to the child's home as possible. The school is required to develop and implement an IEP that meets the standards of federal and state educational agencies. The state department of education oversees its schools to make sure they are compliant to every student's IEP. If schools fail to comply to the child's IEP, the school district may be put on trial. Parents have the option of refusing Special Education services for their child if they choose.

Under IDEA, students with disabilities are entitled to receive special education services through their local school district from age 3 to age 18 or 21. To receive special education services, a student must demonstrate a disability in one of 13 specific categories, including autism, developmental disability, specific learning disability, intellectual impairment, emotional and/or behavioral disability, intellectual disability, speech and language disability, deaf-blind, visual impairment, hearing impairment, orthopedic or physical impairment, other health impaired (including attention deficit disorder), multiple disabilities and traumatic brain injury. Depending on the students' individual needs, they may be included, mainstreamed, or placed in a special school, and/or may receive many specialized services in separate classrooms. In addition to academic goals, the goals documented in the IEP may address self-care, social skills, physical, speech, and vocational training. The program placement is an integral part of the process and typically takes place during the IEP meeting.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
A Free Appropriate Public Education means special education and related services that:


 * Are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge,
 * Meet state requirements and the requirements of federal regulations
 * Include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State involved, and
 * Comply with a lawful Individual/Individualized Education Program

See 34 CFR 300.17

Least restrictive environment
The least restrictive environment is defined as "educating students with disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate with students without disabilities. It specifies that the removal of learners from the general education environment may occur only when the nature or severity of the student's disability precludes satisfactory instruction in general education classes, even with supplementary aids and services.

The least restrictive environment (LRE) mandate requires that all students in special education be educated with typical peers to the greatest extent possible, while still providing FAPE. The LRE requirement is intended to prevent unnecessary segregation of students with disabilities and is based on Congress' finding students with disabilities tend to have more success when they remain with or have access to typical peers. More students with disabilities are being educated in regular education classrooms. 64% of Special Education students spend their day in a regular classroom.

Although students should be educated in their LRE according to the law, there is something else we have to explore when it comes to a student's LRE. A student's behavior is key to the LRE. If the behavior is not appropriate in that LRE, then it can be addressed with restrictions and (BIP) Behavior Intervention Plan. A Behavior Intervention Plan is a plan that is based on the results of a functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and, at minimum, includes a description of the problem behavior, global and specific hypothesis as to why the problem behavior occurs, and intervention strategies that include positive behavior supports and services to address the behavior. School Systems must allow one of the following persons to write and train teachers on the plan, before implementation in the classroom. This plan will have to be merged with the IEP to ensure a successful learning environment.

Related services
Special education-related services include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Certified orientation and mobility specialists, teachers of the visually impaired and board-certified behavior analysts, and music therapists may service students deemed eligible. Music therapy is a somewhat new related service, and it may not be widely accessible across the country. Services can be rendered in individual or small group sessions, in the general education classroom, or simply as a consult between the service provider and other team members. Each related service provider on the team must include goals in the IEP as well as specific time allocated to the student. The benefits of special education services have similarly been evaluated largely in relation to their impact on academic skill acquisition with less consideration of other potential benefits. Educators today take a more integrated approach to teaching and learning, using methods for students of varying ability levels in more inclusive classrooms.

Setting for individualized services
Most recently, many schools are incorporating inclusive classrooms in which both a general education and special education teacher "co-teach." Together both educators work as a team to deliver instruction while implementing the legal modifications and accommodations of the special needs students in the class.

If a student is not able to learn in a fully inclusive situation, the special education team may decide to try the student in a more restrictive setting, usually partial inclusion. As the name implies, partial inclusion is when the student with disabilities participates in the general education setting for part of the day and receives the bulk of academic instruction in a pull-out classroom, such as the resource room, with the special education teacher or other staff.

Some students require life-skills-based academics due to the severity of their disabilities. Such students are usually assigned to a self-contained classroom where they will spend at least 60% of their school day working directly with the special education staff. These students may or may not participate in the general education classroom with typical peers.

If a student is unable to function within the general education classroom and/or the special education classroom, the team's next step is to consider placing the student at a school specializing in the education of children with extreme disabilities. The trend during the 1990s was to move away from this model, as previous research pointed to academic and behavioral growth among these students when taught via individualized instruction within the general setting.

If the student has a very severe health condition or is not able to attend school for some other reason, he or she will receive instruction at home. A special education teacher, staff, and related service providers go to the student's home to deliver instruction.

The highest level of restrictive placement is institutionalization. When the student's needs are such that he or she cannot function in any of the less restrictive environments, residential placement must be considered by the team. Very few students in the United States today are in residential placement. The goal is usually to get the student to a point where they are able to return to the public school campus, if at all possible.

History in the US
Until the passage of PL94-142 in 1975, American schools educated only one out of five children with disabilities. More than 1 million students were refused access to public schools and another 3.5 million received little or no effective instruction. Many states had laws that explicitly excluded children with certain types of disabilities, including children who were blind, deaf, and children labeled "emotionally disturbed" or "mentally retarded."

In the 1950s and 1960s, family associations began forming and advocating for the rights of children with disabilities. In response, the Federal government began to allocate funds to develop methods of working with children with disabilities and passed several pieces of legislation that supported developing and implementing programs and services to meet their needs and those of their families. Two laws provided training for professionals and teachers who worked with students with "mental retardation" ( PL 85–926 in 1958 and PL 86–158 in 1959). In 1961, the Teachers of the Deaf Act (PL 87-276) provided for training of teachers to work with the deaf or hard of hearing. In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (PL 89–10) and the State Schools Act (PL 89-313) granted funds to states to help educate children with disabilities. In 1968, the Handicapped Children's Early Education Assistance Act of 1968 (PL 90-538) funded early childhood intervention for children with disabilities. Several landmark court decisions established the responsibility of states to educate children with disabilities (in particular, Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971) and Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972)).

Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act guaranteed civil rights for disabled people in the context of federally funded institutions or any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. It required accommodations in affected schools for disabled people including access to buildings and structures and improved integration into society. Act 504 applies to all people throughout their lifetimes, not just the span of 3–21 years. A person with a 504 plan does not have to have an educational disability. The spirit of 504 is to level the playing field for people with disabilities and is about access.

Education for All Handicapped Children's Act of 1975
In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) Public Law 94-142 established the right of children with disabilities to receive a free, appropriate public education and provided funds to enable state and local education agencies to comply with the new requirements. The act stated that its purpose was fourfold:


 * To assure that all children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education emphasizing special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs
 * To protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents
 * To help state and local education agencies provide for the education of all children with disabilities
 * To assess and assure the effectiveness of efforts to educate all children with disabilities

In 1986 EHA was reauthorized as PL 99-457, additionally covering infants and toddlers below age 3 with disabilities, and providing for associated Individual Family Service Plans (IFSP), prepared documents to ensure individualized special service delivery to families of respective infants and toddlers.

Americans with Disabilities Act
Providing individuals with identified disabilities similar protections from discrimination as those granted by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) barred discrimination in employment (Title 1), public services and transportation (Title 2) public accommodations (Title 3), telecommunications (Title 4) and miscellaneous provisions (Title 5). It was a great step in normalizing the lives of disabled people. Title 3 prohibited disability based discrimination in any place of public accommodation with regard to full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, or accommodations. Public accommodations included most places of education.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
The law regarding disability education underwent a change with the introduction of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Prior to that time, the statutory focus in EHA was to provide access to education for disabled students who had been marginalized in the public school system. Satisfied that the goal of "access" had been reached, in 1997 Congress enacted IDEA with the express purpose of addressing implementation problems resulting from "low expectations, and an insufficient focus on applying replicable research on proven methods of teaching and learning for children with disabilities." 20 U.S.C. § 1400(c)(4). The statute clearly stated its commitment to "our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities." 20 U.S.C. § 1400(c)(1).

Arguably, passage of IDEA represented a significant shift in focus from the disability education system in place prior to 1997. IDEA added individualized transition plans (ITP) for transitioning individuals from secondary school to adult life or post secondary education. Special education coverage was extended to the categories of autism and traumatic brain injury (TBI). In 1997 IDEA was reauthorized as PL 105-17 and extended coverage to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), functional behavioral assessments and intervention plans were added, and the ITP's were integrated within IEP's. An additional re-authorization was made in 2004 (below).

Like EHEA before it, the act's zero reject rule requires schools to provide educational services to every disabled child, even if there is no hope of the child benefiting from the services (e.g., if the child is in a coma).

No Child Left Behind
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (ESEA) PL 107–110, more popularly known as the No Child Left Behind Act required accountability for the academic performance of all school children, including those with disabilities. It called for 100% proficiency in reading and math by the year 2012.

The Assistive Technology Act of 2004 (ATA) PL 108-364 provided support for school-to-work transition projects and created loan programs for the purchase of assistive technology (AT) devices.

The 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act reauthorization PL 108-446 changed learning disability identification procedures, required high qualification standards for special education teachers, stipulated that all students with disabilities participate in annual state or district testing or documented alternate assessments, and allowed in response to activities related to weapons, drugs or violence that a student could be placed in interim alternative educational setting.

Some student disability protections not covered by IDEA may be still covered under Section 504 or ADA due to a broader definitions of what constitutes a disability. There are some rumors in the Education field about NCLB. There is a rumor that teachers are forced to test children with severe disabilities. IDEA does cover children under the Disability Act. The problem is that they group all children as having the same severe disability. Erin Dillon a former Senior Policy Analyst, states as a writer for "EducationSector" That all special education students do not fit the criteria of severely disabled. Students can reach grade level with tools and accommodations in place. NCLB has become more accountable by placing students in subgroups to identify the specific disability. Most of the students under IDEA have been put in the category of LEARNING DISABLED (LD). The LD label is there to ensure that students get the proper help needed to obtain grade level performances. Dillon notes that there are 4 groups that service 80% of special education; Learning Disabled (LD), Emotional Disturbed (ED), Speech and Language Impairments & other Health Impairments, such as ADD. Since 1977 the population of students with disabilities has increased from 8% to 14% to 2006(Dillon). African-American students account for 15% of the total student population, but carry a 21% of the identified special education students. Studies show that most Afro-American students are labeled in special education as MR or ED; white students are labeled as Autism. The major issue is how to count the scores and be fair to this population of special education students, (Quality Counts 2004, Count Me In).

Federal funding
According to a CSEF 2004 report special education enrollments and expenditures have been growing steadily since the implementation of the IDEA in 1975. It appears that total special education expenditures have been growing faster than general education expenditures, but that this is primarily because the enrollments and identification of special education students has increased faster than the rate of the overall student population. Increasing special education enrollments of children birth through 21 as a percentage of total student enrollments can be attributed to several factors, including rising numbers of at-risk school-age children, and increasing numbers of preschool children, as well as infants and toddlers (Birth to age 3) served through IDEA Part C. Special education expenditures have demonstrated steady increases paralleling and likely caused by this steady, uninterrupted growth in enrollments. Based on 1999-2000 data from the national SEEP, the 50 states and the District of Columbia spent approximately $50 billion on special education services alone, and $78.3 billion on all educational services required to educate students with disabilities (including regular education services and other special needs programs such as Title I and English language learners) amounting to $8,080 per special education student.

The main source of federal government funding for special education programs is the IDEA Part B. Part B is the legislature that mandates the federal disbursement of funds to the state government and regulation of special education programs. Once the state receives the disbursement, the funds are disbursed to each local school district in accordance to the IDEA Part B standards and the funding method of the state.

Part B of IDEA originally authorized Congress to contribute up to 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure for each special education student. 20 U.S.C. § 1411(a). Appropriations for special education have failed to implement that original authorization. A number of studies have sought to track the apparent disparity between the federal commitment to special education and the shortfall in funding. A 2003 study by SEEP, now the Center for Special Education Finance, determined that the per pupil expenditures for special education range from a low of $10,558 for students with specific learning disabilities to a high of $20,095 for students with multiple disabilities. According to the SEEP study, expenditures for students with specific learning disabilities were 1.6 times the expenditure for a regular education student, whereas expenditures for students with multiple disabilities were 3.1 times higher. Most states, in turn, have failed to make up the gap in federal funding, and this in turn has created financial pressures on local school districts. This has led to periodic calls for bringing appropriations in line with the original authorization.

During the 1999–2000 school year, the 50 states and the District of Columbia spent approximately $50 billion on special education services, amounting to $8,080 per special education student. The total spending on regular and special education services to students with disabilities amounted to $77.3 billion, or an average of $12,474 per student. An additional one-billion dollars was expended on students with disabilities for other special needs programs (e.g., Title I, English language learners, or gifted and talented students), bringing the per-student amount to $12,639. The total spending to educate students with disabilities, including regular education and special education, represents 21.4% of the $360.6 billion total spending on elementary and secondary education in the United States. The additional expenditure to educate the average student with a disability is estimated to be $5,918 per student. This is the difference between the total expenditure per student eligible for special education services ($12,474) and the total expenditure per regular education student ($6,556). Based on 1999-2000 school-year data, the total expenditure to educate the average student with disabilities is an estimated 1.90 times that expended to educate the typical regular education student with no special needs.

State funding systems
According to a CSEF Report on State Special Education Finance Systems, on the average, states provide about 45 percent and local districts about 46 percent of the support for special education programs, with the remaining 9 percent provided through federal IDEA funding. States use a variety of methods of allocating funds to school districts. Under a weighted special education funding system, (used by about 34% of the states), state special education aid is allocated on a per student basis. Under the weighted funding system, the amount of aid provided to local districts is based on the funding "weight" associated with each special education student, enabling districts serving students with greater needs to receive more money than districts whose students require fewer services. Under a flat grant system, (used in only one state) funding is based on a fixed funding amount per student.

Other states provide a flat grant based on the count of all students in a district, rather than on the number of special education students. Advocates for this system argue that it takes away the incentive to over-identify students for special education. However, the range of special education eligible students in various districts is so broad, that the flat grant based system creates significant disparities in the local effort required.

There are other funding systems in use. Under a resource-based system, funding is based on an allocation of specific education resources, such as teachers or classroom units. Resource-based formulas include unit and personnel mechanisms in which distribution of funds is based on payment for specified resources, such as teachers, aides, or equipment. Under a percentage reimbursement system, the amount of state special education aid a district receives is directly based on its expenditures for the program. The variable block grant is used to describe funding approaches in which funding is determined in part by base year allocations, expenditures, and/or enrollment. Many states use separate funding mechanisms to target resources to specific populations or areas of policy concern such as extended school year services or specialized equipment. According to the CSEF report, a growing number of states have a separate funding stream that can be accessed by districts serving exceptionally "high-cost" special education students.

Maintenance of effort
The purpose of federal special education funding is to maintain or improve the quality of special education services. This purpose would be undercut if additional federal dollars were "supplanted" by merely reducing the level of state or local funding for special education. For this reason, like many other such programs, the federal law and regulations contain accounting guidelines, requiring "maintenance of effort." The statute says that federal funds provided to the local education agency "(i) Shall be used only to pay the excess cost of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities; (ii) Shall be used to supplement State, local and other Federal funds and not to supplant such funds; and (iii) Shall not be used ...to reduce the level of expenditures for the education of children with disabilities made by the local education agency from local funds below the level of those expenditures for the preceding fiscal year. 20 USC 1413 Regulations implementing this requirement begin with a test that seeks to assure that funds provided to a local education agency (LEA) under Part B of IDEA may not be used to reduce the level of expenditures for the education of children with disabilities made by the LEA from local funds below the level of those expenditures for the preceding fiscal year. Implementing this requirement fairly at the local level requires some exceptions

Qualifying students for special education
By federal law, no student is too disabled to qualify for a free, appropriate education. Whether it is useful and appropriate to attempt to educate the most severely disabled children, such as children who are in a persistent vegetative state or in a coma, is debated. While many severely disabled children can learn at least simple tasks, such as pushing a buzzer when they want attention or using a brain implant if they are unable to move their hands, some children may be incapable of learning. However, schools are required to provide the services, and teachers design individual programs that expose the child to as much of the curriculum as reasonably possible. Some parents and advocates say that these children would be better served by substituting improved physical care for any academic program.

Referral
Parents who suspect or know that their child has a problem making adequate school progress should request an evaluation from their local school district. The request, called a "referral for evaluation," should be initiated in writing. The referral should be addressed to the principal of the local public school or the special education coordinator for the district, and should provide the child's name, date of birth, address, current school placement (if applicable), and the suspected area of disability or special need. Referrals can also be made by general education teachers or guidance counselors. Upon receipt of the referral, the school district will contact the parent to set up a meeting time in order to explain the process and obtain written consent to perform the necessary evaluations. To prepare for this meeting, parents should be able to describe their child's problems in depth, providing examples of their child's difficulties in the classroom. Parents can request any evaluations they feel are needed to add to the picture of the child's specific educational needs, such as speech and language testing, occupational therapy testing or neurological testing. All evaluations needed to provide a full picture of the child's disabilities must be provided by the school system at no cost to the family.

Evaluation
After the referral process, the district will begin the evaluation. The law requires a comprehensive and nondiscriminatory school evaluation involving all areas of suspected disability. Testing can be done in numerous places but it is most common in schools: Elementary schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, and Universities.

Testing must be in the native language of the child (if feasible). It must be administered by a team of professionals, which must include at least a general education teacher, one special education teacher, and a specialist who is knowledgeable in the area of the child's disability. Testing must be administered one-to-one, not in a group. Any tests or other evaluation materials used must be administered by professionals trained and qualified to administer them; i.e., psychological testing must be conducted by a psychologist trained to administer the specific tests utilized. Teachers also document any interventions they have already been using in the classroom. In addition, teachers will use formal tests such as DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills),DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment), WJ III (Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement) or the WIAT (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test) to see if they are on grade level or below. Anything a teacher or committee member can bring with them to help see the student's whole academic picture (e.g. grades) is extremely helpful.

In addition to testing, an observation of the child either in school or in a comparable situation is required for an initial evaluation, and often at later stages as well. It is through the observation that the child can be assessed while interacting with his peers and teachers. To insure objectivity and cross-referencing, this observation must be conducted by a person other than the child's classroom teacher. The observation need not be done exclusively in the child's classroom, especially when the child's suspected area of disability may become manifest in larger settings, such as the lunchroom, hallways or gym.

For children over twelve years of age, vocational testing is required. This requirement is in keeping with the spirit of the IDEA 1997 Amendments that encourage preparation of children for useful employment. The vocational testing should identify areas of interest and skills needed to attain employment after graduation from school. During the testing process, the parent is free to provide any privately obtained evaluative material and reports. Experts may include professionals such as psychotherapists, psychiatrists, neurologists, pediatricians, medical personnel, and tutors. Professionals who have been working with the child over time can often provide the district with a long-term view of the child's needs.

Classification
Once all the evaluative material is presented and reviewed at the meeting, the IEP team must first determine whether the child is eligible for special education services. An eligible child will require special education intervention in order to enable him/her to receive the benefits of instruction and an education. If the team finds the child eligible for special education, they must then classify the child in one of 13 categories.

The following is a data table on students in the U.S. and outlying areas aged 6 through 21 who received special education in the 2006–2007 school year. The IDEA allows, but does not require, school districts to add the classifications of Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) at their discretion.

Development of the Individual Education Program (IEP)
The Individual Education Program is developed by a team (sometimes referred to as the Committee on Special Education) that must include at least one parent and the professionals who work with the student. Teachers and a representative from the school administration are generally required to attend these meetings. Parents may additionally include anyone they choose, for any reason they choose.

Parents must be notified of the meeting in writing. The notification must indicate the purpose, time and location of the meeting and list the people who will be in attendance, including the name and position of each person. If parents are unable to attend at the appointed time, the meeting should be rescheduled to accommodate the needs of the family.

The Individual Education Program
The IEP must include:


 * A statement of the child's present levels of educational performance, which describes the effects of the child's disability on all affected areas of the child's academic and non-academic school performance.
 * A statement of annual goals including short-term objectives. Annual goals must describe what the child is expected to accomplish in a 12-month period in the special education program. Short-term objectives should describe the steps required to achieve the goals. Goals and objectives are specific in all areas in which the child is receiving special education services.
 * A statement of the specific special education and related services to be provided to the child and the extent to which the child will participate in regular education programs.
 * The projected dates for the initiation of services.

Determining the appropriate placement
After the IEP meeting the parents must be given written notice of exactly where and how the services will be provided for their child. Most often, the suggested program will be located within the public school system in the district. When a student's disability is such that his or her needs cannot be met in the district, the school district may suggest a placement in an out-of-district program. These programs can include a Day Treatment Program, a Non-public Special Education School, a Residential School or Home Instruction. In all cases, parents should visit the sites that are recommended to observe the program to determine if the program is appropriate for their child.