Topic 3: Busy BJ

We have some serious searching to do! The span of history for court cases to protect the rights of children is short. In 1906 Eduard Sequin wrote: The individuality of the children is to be secured for respect of individuality is the first test of the fitness of a teacher. We have a long history of thinking of children as property, and we are still the working to understand the best way to educate and protect youth - how to balance the needs of one child with the needs of the class. It is absolutely crucial to balance the needs of each class with the needs of the entire school.

We live in a world that is rapidly changing with respect to rights, and it is especially evident to us as we see the struggles of our schools against the backdrop of the world community and efforts to secure peace. Right to personal dignity and the right to life are nested in the right to an appropriate education. Some might see a distinction between the ethnic cleansing in a country across the globe and the rights of a child to a reasonable education without harrassment. Some might say it is the same fight - but at different places and by different means.

Are teachers helping with this struggle when we say that all children - not just all people -- are created equal? Will we work to see that each child who comes into our classrooms has an opportunity to explore options and receive respect as an individual? Can we also work to help special needs students feel a sense of belonging in a community of learners? What do you think?

One of the very first cases cited, Brown vs. Board of Education, 1954, was about segregation. Since then we have explored children's rights- - right to privacy in belongings placed in a school locker, to stay in school with peers and near home. We have cases protecting a child's right to be safe and feel safe at school, to have special services when needed, to have educational supports when the local program is not equipped to provide them.

By 1974, there was enough energy surrounding these issues of educating children with special needs, that a Federal law was passed, requiring schools to provide Free and Appropriate Public Education to all children as well as five other key pieces. That law and set of regulations has been updated and added to a number of times. The most recent revision came in 1997 and is referred to as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA '97.

The 1997 revision to the law was a grass roots effort, spearheaded by parents, to let congress and schools know that the letter of the law was being upheld in many places, but the spirit of the law was being ignored with heart breaking frequency. The love for children -- a desire to do the very best for every single student, was not in evidence in enough schools and with enough consistency. Instead, the situation had become "adversarial" -- small gains for students and families, eked out by long, trying court cases, making their way to the Supreme Court years after students grew out of and graduated from programs. Despite going to court, the process was so long and complex they often had to turn to places outside of public education to get the needed support or program.

School districts and families were suffering the cost and distress of working out student and school rights through litigation, through being enemies rather than finding positive ways to support each other and see the views of one another.

How does a school and a family get to the place that they are willing to invest years and years to determine if a student may wear an armband to school? How much emotion is involved in a parent demanding that a student not be left in a hall way at the mercy of youngsters who are being abusive and questioning the rights of a teacher to slip a way for a few minutes and get a break?

These are the questions - the issues - the most basic human rights and human needs that are at the core of this module. The goals include reaching a level of skill, understanding and proficiency in covering the material so that you are able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the legal provisions known as IDEA 1997,a United States law that mandates services for students with special needs, understand the statutes that apply to your own state or country, and Section 504, the Rehabilitation Act that is binding in the US.

2. Analyze legal responsibilities of schools, parents, and students.

3. Demonstrate an understanding of the roles of parents with children who have disabilities.

4. Recognize and discuss some of the current issues and trends in special education and the role a teacher may develop in providing consultation and collaboration to those who need to understand and care about providing appropriate services to children.

Naturally, there are a number of ways to demonstrate acquisition of these skills. The following list includes ways to attain this knowledge and evaluations to assess your progress in understanding the principles. Of course, your life and the work you do as a teacher will be the true evaluation of these principles.

Module Objective	Level of Competency	Evaluation
IDEA 97 and Federal Regulations	Introductory
State statutes regarding special education	Introductory
Section 504	Introductory
Legal responsibilities of all parties - school, parents, teachers, student	Introductory
Honoring and understanding the role of parents	Introductory
The potential role of regular ed. teachers	Introductory
The potential role of special ed. teachers	Introductory
Consultation and collaboration	Introductory

To complete this Topic successfully, please complete the following activities in the order shown below:

TEXTBOOK: Review the material in the Smith workbook, specifically Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 13-48