Back to Basics: Special Education

Given some topics that I want to address, I thought it'd be useful to provide a high-level summary of some of the basics of special education.  It has a lingo of its own, and it's useful to know common concepts and acronyms to navigate in this world.

First of all, special education is governed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which was first passed in 1975.  It came about in the wake of the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court, which held, in 1954, that all children were entitled to education - that separate was inherently not equal.  IDEA is thus a civil rights statute, but is also a funding statute that provides funds to states in exchange for the states' commitment to certain minimum standards for special education programs.  (Note that IDEA is not, and has never been, fully funded.  It is currently funded at about 12% of its allocation).

Ok, so, who knows what special education *is not*?

Answer: Special education is not a place.  Special education is not a separate classroom, or building.  Special education is specialized services - "specialized designed instruction...to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability".  This specialized instruction is any adaption of the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction to enable the child to access the general curriculum.

Under IDEA, every child with a qualifying disability (we'll get to that in a minute) is entitled to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE).  This includes the specialized instruction, as necessary, plus "related services" - services that assist that child in accessing the curriculum.  These may include speech-language pathology services (SLP), occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), or other services (including counseling, transportation, etc.)

What's a qualifying disability?  There are specifically enumerated categories of disability, including hearing impairments, speech/language impairments, mental retardation (here's to hoping that gets renamed at some point), and a few "catch all" categories - "other health impairments" and "specific learning disabilities".  ADHD and asthma, for example, often fall within "other health impairments."

Last major concept: under IDEA, the schools must ensure that, to the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities will be educated with "typical" students.  This is called the "Least Restrictive Environment", or, LRE.  Separate classes or other removal of kids with disabilities should occur only if the nature/severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily.  Such supplementary aids and services could include seating in the front of the classroom, books on tape, a place for rest breaks, enhanced staffing or teaching ratios, assistive technology...really anything that can help the student in the general classroom.

Obviously, this is the tip of the iceberg.  But getting the basics out there first will let me tackle more complicated (and perhaps controversial) topics in future posts.  Inclusion, here we come!