Unpacking Disability and Family Rights Summary
The education of students with disabilities has evolved significantly in the past 50-75 years, and it has not always been a topic that all agree upon. Many lawsuits and subsequent laws and litigation have driven the education system to require that every student who has a disability receive a free appropriate public education. The purpose of this assignment is for you to learn and summarize some of the most important actions that have affected the rights of students and their families in relation to special education.
Write a 525- to 700-word summary highlighting and explaining the major events that have influenced family rights in the context of special education.
Include the following in your summary:
- A description of laws or litigation supporting family involvement in educational systems
- Changes to the Individual’s with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that strengthened the family’s role in their child’s education
- Procedural due process
Dispute resolutions
- An explanation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) in the context of special education
Answer preview
The main struggles and call for reforms of special education for children with disabilities started in 1893. This was after the Supreme court in Massachusetts made a ruling of expelling a student from school due to poor academic ability and performance. As a result, students were denied the right to education. Later, in 1975, the United States Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). It was enacted into law by President Ford in response to how children living with disabilities were treated in public schools (Wells et al., 2020). It also ensured that children with disabilities received free and quality education, regardless of gender, race, or disability. Since then, tremendous changes have been applied to EHA, and in 1997 was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA).
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