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/