What’s Particular Schooling? | Ok-12 Faculties
For decades, public schools have been required by law to provide “free and adequate education” to children with disabilities. The system that makes this possible is a complex web of acronyms and regulations that govern services and support. We call it special education.
Special Education refers to a set of federal and state laws and regulations that aim to educate millions of children with disabilities and act as a safety net for those unable to use mainstream school curriculum unaided .
“The special education laws recognize that students with disabilities without special assistance cannot access education like other students can,” said Ron Hager, senior education and employment attorney for the National Disability Rights Network. “Special education gives students with disabilities what they need to be successful.”
Special education in numbers
Special education in the United States is governed by the pioneering Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, sometimes called IDEA. The law states that children with cognitive, physical, emotional and medical problems are entitled to special services, support, technology and individual planning and goals outside of the general educational curriculum.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the 2019-20 school year, more than 7 million students, or about 14% of students aged 3-21, in public schools were entitled to special services and accommodation to help with learning.
The percentage of students in special education also varies by state, with differences likely due to inconsistencies in state determination of eligibility as well as challenges associated with diagnosing disability. New York has the largest proportion of disabled students.
The system helps children with disabilities across the country to gain a basic education, acquire life skills and integrate with their peers.
During the pandemic, when school classes went online, that support continued in many cases, says Lindsay Kubatzky, director of policy and advocacy at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
“When school systems overcame the pandemic, [special education laws] ensures that teachers continue to provide high quality, tailored training for students with disabilities, regardless of the circumstances, ”he wrote in an email. “In any learning environment, students are still guaranteed the accommodations and resources they need to be successful. The law protects the rights of students with disabilities even in the most difficult times. “
However, says Hager, we still have a lot of work to do.
“During the pandemic, no student really got what they needed,” he says. “In the future, the special school system will ensure that people take a closer look so that pupils with disabilities can catch up.”
Who receives special educational benefits?
The majority of students with disabilities – around two-thirds – are male, according to data from the Pew Research Center for the 2017/18 school year.
Of all students who received special education that year, 34% had a specific learning disability, generally defined as a different way of thinking, speaking, reading, writing, or spelling. Dyslexia, a learning disorder that affects reading skills, is perhaps the most common learning disability known. However, over the years other key challenges have been identified, such as dysgraphia, which affects writing, and dyscalculia, which affects math and related activities.
Another 19% had a speech or language impairment. According to NCES data, autistic children made up about 10% of the country’s disabled students in the 2017/18 school year, compared to about 1.5% in 2000/01.
“One in 10,000 people used to have autism, today it’s one in 100,” says Hager. “If you ask five different people why that is, you will get six different answers, including environmental factors. However, the fact is that autism and the need for services are much more on people’s radar. And there is an understanding that autism is a spectrum in which one can be highly functional, but also requires special educational offers, especially social-emotional services. “
The special case of ADHD
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a special case when it comes to receiving support and services in school. ADHD is not identified as one of the 13 state disability categories that are guaranteed benefits, although there are ways that children with ADHD can get help.
If the child has severe ADHD that causes them to have two grades below their level, the disability may be classified as “otherwise impaired” and the student may be eligible for federal benefits. Less severe cases of ADHD and other disabilities can receive special education services through a so-called 504 plan, which provides accommodation such as preferred seating or extended test times.
“Both medically and educationally, our understanding of ADHD continues to improve, but there is still a great deal of confusion about what constitutes ADHD,” wrote Elena Silva, director of PK-12 education at New America, a Washington, DC political organization , in an email.
Hager says that students with ADHD are often dismissed as “lazy or disorganized” when they actually need special education support and shelter. “Students with ADHD are often pushed aside,” he says.
Use of special education services
The first step in receiving special education is to be recognized by a school or district as a student in need. A teacher, parent, or doctor will document a child’s challenges and advocate services across the 13 state disability categories.
Meetings and assessments take place, and a special plan known as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) can be created to codify individual goals and arrangements. This plan will be reviewed regularly to see if the disability classification is still in effect and the child is still eligible for special education.
However, according to Kubatzky, the system is not always perfectly geared to the challenges of some students.
“Every student with a disability also has unique and individual needs,” he says.
