Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965:

• The overall purpose of ESEA was to improve educational opportunities for poor children. This was not meant as a general package of aid to all schools; the allocation formulas directed assistance to the local education agencies (LEAs) with the greatest proportions going to poor children.

• The funds were purposely distributed through state

education agencies (SEAs) to avoid the perception that the federal government was intervening in the rights and obligations of states to provide public education and also to use the funds as leverage to upgrade the capabilities of SEAs themselves.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments

• Created the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (BEH), which later became the administering agency for the EHA and the IDEA.

• The agency later titled the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which still exists today.

The Rehabilitation Act (1973)

• First rights legislation to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities

• This law applied to programs conducted by Federal agencies

• Those receiving federal funds, such as colleges participating in federal student loan programs

• Federal employment, and employment practices of businesses with federal contracts.

There are several relevant sections of this act under Title V that require that reasonable

accommodations be provided: • Section 501 - covering Federal government agencies

of the Executive branch • Section 502- covering Federal government contractors

and subcontractors

• Section 504 - covering any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service

Section 504 (1973)

• Qualified individuals with disabilities are not to be excluded from, denied access to or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the U.S. Postal Service.

• Each Federal agency has its own sections of section 504 regulations that apply to its own programs

• Reasonable accommodations for employees must be provided as well as access to participation in all programs, facilitated communication for people with hearing or vision disabilities, and accessible construction and alterations.

• Section 504 has promoted the development of disability support services in colleges and universities.

Free Appropriate Public Education

• FAPE is the provision of special education and services at public expense in accordance with an IEP designed to help the child receive educational benefit.

An appropriate education• Education services designed to meet the individual

education needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met

• Education of each student with a disability with nondisabled students, to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the student with a disability

• Evaluation and placement procedures established to guard against misclassification or inappropriate placement of students.

• Periodic reevaluation of students who have been provided special education or related services

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA 1974)

• Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

• The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an

applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

• FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records.

• These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

Releasing Student Records• Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's

education records maintained by the school.

• Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records.

• Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading.

• If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

• Schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record.

FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under

the following conditions:• School officials with legitimate educational interest

• Schools a student is transferring

• Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes

• Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student

• Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school

• Judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena

• Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies

• State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law

Education of All Handicapped Children Act (1975) becomes Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act (2004)• Originally known as EAHCA, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act) • States must develop and implement policies that assure a free appropriate

public education (FAPE) to all children with disabilities, emphasizing special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs

• The state plans must be consistent with the federal statute, Title 20 United States Code Section 1400

• Protect the rights of handicapped children and their parents or guardians, assess and assure the effectiveness of efforts to educate handicapped children.

IDEA Title I money• Title I provides financial assistance through State education agencies to

local districts and public schools that have high numbers or percentages of children from low-income families.

• Annually, it provides over $7 billion to school systems across the country for students at risk of failure and living at or near poverty.

• The policy was rewritten in 1994 to improve fundamental goals of helping at-risk students.

• No Child Left Behind policy required schools to complete adequate yearly progress on state testing and focus on best teaching practices in order to continue receiving funds.

Types of schools and students served under Title I

• migrant students

• students with limited English proficiency

• homeless students

• students with disabilities

• neglected students

• delinquent students

• at-risk students or any student in need

• high number of absences

• single-parent home

• low academic performance

• low-income family

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)• Placement is based on the student 's individualized education program

• Placement is in the least restrictive environment

• A continuation of alternative placement options is available to all students with disabilities.

• To the maximum extent appropriate, students with disabilities are educated with students who are nondisabled

• Special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular classroom occurs only when the nature or severity of the educational disability is such that education in the regular class cannot be achieved satisfactorily with the use of supplementary aids and services

• To the maximum extent appropriate, each child with a disability participates

with nondisabled children in nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities.

Individual Educational Program• Students displaying a delay in skills or other disabilities might be eligible

for special services that provide individualized education programs in public schools

• Free of charge to families

• Parents of students with special needs are crucial members of their child's education team

• Parents can work with educators to develop a plan using the individualized education program (IEP)

• Help kids succeed in school

• IEP describes the goals the team sets for a child during the school year including any special support needed to help achieve them.

Students who qualify for an IEP• learning disabilities

• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD

• emotional disorders

• mental retardation

• Autism

• hearing impairment

• visual impairment

• speech or language impairment

• developmental delay

The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)

• Civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion.

• Guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications.

• Fair, swift, and effective enforcement of this landmark civil rights legislation is a high priority of the Federal Government.

Employers covered under ADA• The title I employment provisions apply to private

employers, State and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions.

• Employers with 25 or more employees were covered as of July 26, 1992.

• Employers with 15 or more employees were covered two years later, beginning July 26, 1994.

The ADA prohibits discrimination• Employment practices, including job application

procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

• It applies to recruitment, advertising, tenure, layoff, leave, fringe benefits, and all other employment-related activities.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Stimulus Recovery Act

• Economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009, totaling $100 billion

• Aid to local school districts to prevent layoffs and cutbacks, with flexibility to use the funds for school modernization and repair (State Fiscal Stabilization Fund)

• Increase Pell Grants from $4,731 to $5,350

• Low-income public schoolchildren

• IDEA special education

Stimulus monies spent on Education (2009)

• Head Start

• Childcare services

• Educational technology

• Increased teacher salaries

• States to analyze student performance

• Support working college students

• Education of homeless children