Special Education- History, Status, and Current Challenges

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 available.
† 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:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/06/04/md-senior-opts-to-study-with-other.html

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

https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=64

References for Timeline

Legislative Summary: Education. (2015, June 1). Retrieved June 30, 2015, from

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/Legislative-Summary-Main-Page/Education.aspx

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

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/restrict.asp?path=archive/16_03/Hist163.shtml

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_education_in_the_United_States

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,

from http://www.understandingspecialeducation.com/

Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy. (2015, June 23). Retrieved June 30, 2015,

from http://wrightslaw.com/