Timeline Link: http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/history-of-special-education-268cad22-f638-4adc-9b99-e9b862c7eba3.
Write about the current
status of Special Education and the challenges that it presents:
Special
education is a sensitive and important topic today. By having an opportunity
for early intervention, the child’s success will be greatly enhanced. By having
collaboration between parents, special education, and general education staff
is greatly important for the success of the child in an educational setting.
Every child is a different learner so there should be instruction created to
meet their current level. Teachers should be trained to provide the struggling
students with a variety of accommodations to meet their needs. Instruction
needs to be customized! The current curriculum and instructional presentations
show disfavor for students of color and working-class students (Council for
Exceptional Children, 2008). Students who have
educational opportunities that are limited are more likely to be referred for
special education services. Students that are from poverty backgrounds and
students of color are usually taught by teachers with less experience and in a
poorly funded school that has difficulty obtaining and keeping teachers. There
is a disproportionate representation of minority students in special education
programs based on its history of educational segregation and discrimination (Council
for Exceptional Children, 2008). The results of
state and heal estimated have varied its patterns of disproportionality over
time. The results of this is affected by test bias, poverty, special education
processes, inequity in general education, issues of behavior management, and
cultural mismatch/cultural reproduction. This is one of the most critical
issues in special education. There are problems with behavioral issues
especially for staff that has limited training and professional development has
been eliminated because of fiscal constraints. The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement
Act was established to correct this problem to protect minority children with
disabilities (Council for Exceptional Children, 2008). There are three aspects that need to be considered for
addressing disproportionality: examination of current data, comprehensive
hypothesis formulation and interpretation, and culturally responsive
intervention and evaluation (Council for Exceptional Children, 2008). One teacher argued that the Common Core goes by a
system of one-size fits-all approach, which has limited the accommodations for
special-needs students (Beall, 2014). There is the belief that there is less
room for remediation or acceleration for students with disabilities since the
Common Core standards requires teachers to align their lessons each day with
the standards (Beall, 2014). This teacher had the idea that the real problem is
forcing all students into the same, age-pegged standards, which deprives
atypical students of learning opportunities and attainable goals (Beall, 2014).
The biggest issue is not meeting the needs of students with disabilities.
Special education policies and strategies are still a work in progress. They
will continue to face challenges and issues as education continues to change.
The
responsibility of schools is to prepare children and parents for the transition
into adult-based community services. There needs to be a better support system
for parents of children with disabilities. I believe after viewing the
different issues and challenges that are faced in special education today, we
need to figure out a strategy that meets the needs of all learners. Strategies
to introduce education are constantly changing, but there needs to be a way to
integrate all types of learning into the classroom. Teachers should be provided
with training and adequate resources to help students succeed. This means there
needs to be more communication and collaboration between the people that need
to be actively involved in making a child successful in his or her education
setting. A plan does not just end or lack information. It needs to have a
consistent action so the student continues to have the support he or she needs.
I understand the importance of the Common Core standards in STEM education, but
I also believe that it is my responsibility to make a change in education. This
starts by developing a relationship with each student so I can be better
prepared to provide my students with the instruction he or she needs. I will
engage in continuous training and learning needed. We need to be open to the
idea of each student learning different and welcoming different strategies to
help the diverse learners learn together. Just like in a business setting,
every person has different ethics, but they have to collaborate in order to
make the business successful. The classroom should consist of making each student
successful by collaboration. STEM is the opportunity to become more diverse and
open to different cultures. It is the chance to provide children with
disabilities an equal opportunity to grow in demanding fields. STEM was
introduced to meet the needs of the growing market, but one thing we need to
realize is that education will always change to meet the changing demands so
special education will always face challenges ahead.
Statistic to check out
(National Center for Education Statistics, 2015):
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics. (2015). Digest of Education Statistics, 2013 (NCES
2015-011), Chapter 2.
|
Children
3 to 21 years old served under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
Part B, by type of disability: Selected years, 1976–77 through 2011–12
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Type of disability |
1976–77
|
1980–81
|
1990–91
|
2000–01
|
2001–02
|
2002–03
|
2003–04
|
2004–05
|
2005–06
|
2006–07
|
2007–081
|
2008–091
|
2009–10
|
2010–11
|
2011–12
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Number
served (in thousands)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
All disabilities
|
3,694
|
4,144
|
4,710
|
6,296
|
6,407
|
6,523
|
6,634
|
6,720
|
6,718
|
6,687
|
6,597
|
6,483
|
6,481
|
6,436
|
6,401
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Specific learning disabilities
|
796
|
1,462
|
2,129
|
2,860
|
2,861
|
2,848
|
2,831
|
2,798
|
2,740
|
2,665
|
2,569
|
2,476
|
2,431
|
2,361
|
2,303
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Speech or language impairments
|
1,302
|
1,168
|
985
|
1,388
|
1,391
|
1,412
|
1,441
|
1,463
|
1,468
|
1,475
|
1,454
|
1,426
|
1,416
|
1,396
|
1,373
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Intellectual disability
|
961
|
830
|
534
|
624
|
616
|
602
|
593
|
578
|
556
|
534
|
500
|
478
|
463
|
448
|
435
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Emotional disturbance
|
283
|
347
|
389
|
480
|
483
|
485
|
489
|
489
|
477
|
464
|
442
|
420
|
407
|
390
|
373
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Hearing impairments
|
88
|
79
|
58
|
77
|
78
|
78
|
79
|
79
|
79
|
80
|
79
|
78
|
79
|
78
|
78
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Orthopedic impairments
|
87
|
58
|
49
|
82
|
83
|
83
|
77
|
73
|
71
|
69
|
67
|
70
|
65
|
63
|
61
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Other health impairments2
|
141
|
98
|
55
|
303
|
350
|
403
|
464
|
521
|
570
|
610
|
641
|
659
|
689
|
716
|
743
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Visual impairments
|
38
|
31
|
23
|
29
|
28
|
29
|
28
|
29
|
29
|
29
|
29
|
29
|
29
|
28
|
28
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Multiple disabilities
|
---
|
68
|
96
|
131
|
136
|
138
|
140
|
140
|
141
|
142
|
138
|
130
|
131
|
130
|
132
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Deaf-blindness
|
---
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Autism
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
93
|
114
|
137
|
163
|
191
|
223
|
258
|
296
|
336
|
378
|
417
|
455
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Traumatic brain injury
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
16
|
22
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
24
|
25
|
25
|
26
|
25
|
26
|
26
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Developmental delay
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
213
|
242
|
283
|
305
|
332
|
339
|
333
|
357
|
354
|
368
|
382
|
393
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Preschool disabled3
|
†
|
†
|
390
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
†
|
|||||||||||||||
† Not applicable.
# Rounds to zero.
1Data do not include Vermont, for which 2007–08 and 2008–09 data were not available. In 2006–07, the total number of 3- to 21-year-olds served in Vermont was 14,010.
2Other health impairments include having limited strength, vitality, or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems such as a heart condition, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia, or diabetes.
3For 1990–91, preschool children are not included in the counts by disability condition, but are separately reported. For other years, preschool children are included in the counts by disability condition.
4Based on the total enrollment in public schools, prekindergarten through 12th grade.
Check out this great
article about a student from Maryland and his experiences that encouraged his
choices:
References for Essay
Beals, K. (2014, February 21). The
Common Core Is Tough on Kids With Special Needs. Retrieved
June 30, 2015, from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/02/the-common-core-is-tough-on-kids-with-special-needs/283973/
Skiba,
R.J., Simmons, A.B., Ritter, S., Gibb, A.C., Rausch, M.K., Cuadrado, J., Chung,
C.G. (2008).
Achieving equity in special education: History, status, and current
challenges. Council for Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288.
Students with disabilities. (2015).
Retrieved June 30, 2015, from
References for
Timeline
Legislative
Summary: Education. (2015, June 1). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from
Major
Court Cases that have influenced Special Education and the lives of individuals
with
disabilities.
(2015, June 1). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from https://quizlet.com/1731881/major-court-cases-that-have-influenced-special-education-and-the-lives-of-individuals-with-disabilities-flash-cards/
Pardini,
P. (2002, April 6). Preview of Article:. Retrieved June 30, 2015, from
Skiba,
R.J., Simmons, A.B., Ritter, S., Gibb, A.C., Rausch, M.K., Cuadrado, J., Chung,
C.G. (2008).
Achieving equity in special education: History, status, and current
challenges. Council for Exceptional Children, 74(3), 264-288.
Special
education in the United States. (2015, April 14). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from
Ten
Supreme Court Special Education Cases You Need to Know. (2014, September 25).
Retrieved
June 30, 2015, from http://massadvocates.org/billsview/
Understanding
Special Education: A Parent Guide. (2009, June 3). Retrieved June 30, 2015,
Wrightslaw
Special Education Law and Advocacy. (2015, June 23). Retrieved June 30, 2015,
