Case Law

There are many important cases that have laid the ground work for what we know as special education today. I have found three artifacts that will provide information on this subject. Teachers and parents should be familiar with the cases that are discussed in these articles and they should have a basic knowledge of what case law is in special education. I have tried to provide this information in my artifacts.

The first artifact that I would like for you to review is provided by About.com. It is an article that gives information about what case law in special education is. It explains that case laws are: existing decisions in special education disputes. I think that this is a great introduction to case law for those of us who are new to this type of information. I enjoyed reading this article because it explains the information presented simply and allows you to understand the sometimes complicated information that comes with dealing with legal issues. To read this article got to:

http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/ac/g/case_law.htm

The second artifact that I would like you to explore is provided by Wrights Law. It gives us information on important cases that have made special education what it is today. Some of the cases covered are Brown v. Board of Education, Irving v. Tatro, Honig v. Doe and Schaffer v. Weast. These case have mad a tremendous difference in special education and if you would like more information you can use the flowing link:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/caselaw.htm

The final artifact that I am presenting for your review is provided on an attorney’s web-site. It gives information on different areas of case law like IEPs, related services and IEEs. This page was made to present teachers with a broad understanding of the law that pertains to IDEA. It reviews recent decisions that have been made in special education and covers 2000-2001. Take a look at the information presented on this page by using the link below.

http://www.wadleighlaw.com/articles/School/special_education_case_law_review.htm

Schools Behaving Badly

The information provided in this section of my BLOG is very sad and disturbing. I have found three articles that give information on “Schools Behaving Badly”. I found this section of my Blog to be the hardest to write because of the actions and inaction that were taken by schools and educators. I hope that cases like these a few and far between but I know that they do happen.

The first article that I found covers information about restraint. It describes cases that have ended in death of the child being restrained, the legality of restraint and much more. I wanted you to look at this article so that you can see how important it is to make sure proper restraint is being used and it is being used with great care. This article gives you great information and I hope you enjoy reading it. To read this article click on the following link:

http://www.bridges4kids.org/PBS/articles/RyanPeterson2004.htm

The second article that I found was about an 8 year-old girl with autism who was sent to a secluded time out room. She was left in the room for three hours and was only let out after she wet herself. I found this to be very disturbing. Her parents filed a law suit and removed their daughter from the school district. To read this article click on the following link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-10-20-time-out-discipline_N.htm

The final article that I would like you to read is about a student who is deaf with multiple disabilities who has been denied services at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, CA. The student was removed from the school and placed in a day school setting. She was the only student who was deaf and was unable to communicate with any of her peers in her primary language. The school was accused of discriminatory practice and a suit was filed on behalf of the student. To find out more information click on the following link:

http://www.law.stanford.edu/news/pr/25/

Advocacy

Working to make a better life for a child with special needs and to help them gain access to equal opportunities in all areas of life are the main goals of Advocacy Groups. These groups have many different special ties and can be made up of parents, teachers and others who want to fight for the right of the focus group that they are involved with. I have selected only three artifacts of the many that are available that give information on advocacy for individuals with special needs to show you on this blog page.

The first artifact is: Inclusion & Parent Advocacy: A Resource Guide. It is a site that is geared towards both parents and teachers to help them provide inclusive environments for students with disabilities. It provides different links that provide great information for people interested in inclusion and how to make it possible. I found this site very interesting and hope you do as well. To access this site use the link below.

http://www.disabilityresources.org/DRMincl.html

The second artifact is the site of a group called PAGER. This site is dedicated to bringing quality education in reading to students who have language based learning differences. They want “to bring the quality of general and special education reading instruction, at the State and local level, to current research based standards”. To read more about PAGER use the link below to access their site.

http://www.pagergroup.org/

The final artifact that I would like to present is provided by LD Online. This is a list of advocacy groups that can give advice and information to parents and educators on how to advocate for their children and students. There are many links to take you to specific groups that will meet the needs of different individuals and will provide information that could help parents become more informed on the rights that they and their child have. Use the link below to access this information.

http://www.ldonline.org/resources%20new/c715/

No Child Left Behind

When searching for information on No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) you can find an almost over abundance of information. I wanted to provide artifacts that would be beneficial for students, parents and teachers. The NCLB is considered on of the most important laws related to the education of children; this is why there is so much information available about it. NCLB seeks to improve the education of all children and its provisions apply to all students, including those with disabilities. I hope you enjoy the artifacts that I am providing and I hope you can benefit from them.

The first artifact that I am presenting is provided by the US Department of education. You can use this link to access all of the information that you could need to know about NCLB. This is a resource that is available to all and should be used to check on state status in meeting NCLB requirements, NCLB policy and much more. Use this link to access the Department of education:

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml

Watch the video at this link to find out more about NCLB presented by: Mom Matters. I thought that this video would be great for parents to help them better understand NCLB and what the merits and limitations of the initiative are. To view this video click on the following link.

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/inside-no-child-left-behind-mom-matters-21/1839894106

The final artifact that I am presenting is a booklet that is used to help parents better understand both the NCLB and the IDEA. I think that this booklet will be great in helping parents understand both of these laws and to help them better understand their rights and the rights of their children under these laws. I hope you enjoy this link and the information provided.

http://cehd.umn.edu/nceo/onlinePubs/Parents.pdf

Inclusion/ LRE

LRE and Inclusion are two important parts of educating students with special needs. I have found several important documents that will provide information on both of these subjects. I have provided links to two websites that provide information on effective programs to help include students with special needs in general education classrooms and I have also provided a link that will take you to information on LRE or mainstreaming policies. I hope this information will help guide you while searching for information on these two subject areas.

The first website that I would like you to visit is the Circle of Inclusion. This website addresses the needs of young students and their families. It is specifically directed towards educating students from birth to age eight. The information at this website can help to guide parents and teachers through the processes that are necessary for educating young students with special needs in a general education setting. I hope this information will be as beneficial to you as it was to me. To access this website use the following link.

http://www.circleofinclusion.org/

The second website that I would like you to visit is the Inclusion website. It has a great amount of pertinent information bout Inclusion including: legal issues, teaching strategies, decision making and preparing for inclusion. The information on this site is meant to help direct educators and parents in their quest to make inclusive education a reality for their children and students. This information will be very beneficial and can be accessed by using the link below.

http://www.uni.edu/coe/inclusion/

The final artifact that I am presenting is provided at Wrights Law. The information that you can find with the link at the end of this paragraph is to help you answer any questions that you might have about Inclusion and LRE. If you would like to access this information you can got to:

http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.index.htm

IDEA 2004

There are many resources out there to make IDEA 2004 more easily understood. I found three great artifacts that will help to guide students and parents through their search of information about this vital education law. The artifacts that I found describe the sections of the law, help parents and students better understand the components of the law and guide them through all of the information that can bog you down. I hope you find these documents useful and can make them benefit you in your current setting.


The first document is a guide that can be found at the ARC of Texas website. The guide is called: It’s a New IDEA. This guide is a manual that parents and students can use to help familiarize them with the requirements of IDEA. It is meant to empower parents and students so that they can become equal partners when it comes to educational planning for the student. It was written to help parents and students become active participants so that they can help make a better future for themselves or their child. If you would like to see this guide you can use the link below to open it.

http://www.thearcoftexas.org/resources/NewIDEA2005.pdf

The next link that I am going to provide is a direct link to the website for IDEA. This website is a “one-stop shop” for all the information that anyone could need to know about IDEA. Not all of the information is completely available yet but there is a lot of neat information on this site. I would recommend that all educators, parents, and students with disabilities visit this website so that they can become more acquainted with the information in this education law. Enjoy searching!

http://idea.ed.gov/

The final artifact that I found is an article to help individuals gain a more generalized view of IDEA. The title of this article is: IDEA 2004. It shows the history of the IDEA. It also gives the purpose, components, aspects of the law, and more. I think this article breaks the information down and makes it easier to understand. If you would like to read this article you can click on the link below.

http://www.ldonline.org/features/idea2004

High Stakes Testing

I found several interesting artifacts that I wanted to present for this section of my blog. I found several articles that I thought would be important for both educators and parents. These articles provide information that is important to know about high stakes testing and how this information is affected by federal law. I also found a specific article that I wanted to present for parents and students in the state of Texas.

The first artifact that I found is an article called: The Next Wave of Special Education Litigation. This is an article that describes how high stakes testing can interfere with the rights of students with disabilities and it provides information on a case that has already been litigated because of these types of assessment. This article also brings an outside interpretation of Federal laws to help parents and students understand their rights when it does come time to take a high stakes test. If you would like to look at or read this article you can use the link below to access it.

http://www.harborhouselaw.com/articles/highstakes.litigation.wright.htm

The next artifact that I found is on the website called Fair Test. The informational page that I would like to present to you is called: The Case Against High Stakes Testing. It provides links to information about the effect that high stakes testing has on students and it provides lots of links to other information about high stakes testing. I would recommend that you scroll to the middle of the page and find the heading: Testing Special Needs Students. This is informative because it could help parents and students to better understand the strengths and weaknesses that high stakes testing can present. To access The Case Against High Stakes Testing click on the link below.

http://www.fairtest.org/arn/caseagainst.html

The final artifact that I found is an article about the SDAA. This article will be specifically directed to parents and student in the state of Texas. It describes the SDAA, and lets parents and students know about the ramifications of taking this test as an alternate to the TAKS. If you would like more information on the SDAA please click on the following link.

http://www.essortment.com/all/specialeducatio_tvjm.htm