Case Law Assignment

Public Law 94-142: 

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975

            This law has made a huge influence on special education services as it was the first piece of national legislation to mandate appropriate and free education for students with disabilities.  It was signed into law by President Gerald Ford in November 1975.  The law was to go into effect by September 1, 1978.  This law is now known more commonly referred to as IDEA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.    

            The law requires that the following members be present when developing and individualized education program (IEP):  school representative, teacher, parents/guardians, and whenever possible the child.  The written statement (IEP) must include:

·         a statement of the child’s present level of academic functioning

·         a declaration of annual goals complete with appropriate short-term instructional objectives

·         description of specific educational services to be provided to the child and the degree to which the child will participate in regular education programs

·         the proposed date for initiation and estimation of the required length of services

·         annual evaluation procedures specifying objective criteria designed to determine whether the short-term instructional objective shave been met

            The law also requires the children with disabilities be served in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their educational needs.  This means that children can only be placed in separate classes or schools when their disability is so serve that regular school placement is considered inappropriate. 

            The law also legally protects parents by providing them the right to examine all records, obtain independent evaluation, and it requires written notification to the parent in their native language when there are plans to change a child’s individual education program.  Parents are entitled to a meeting before termination, exclusion, or classification of a student into a special program. 

References:

Adapting Early Childhood Curricula for Children with Special Needs by Ruth E. Cook, M. Diane Klein, and Annette Tessier. 

Professional Resources retrieved at http://college.cengage.com/education/resources/res_prof/students/spec_ed/legislation/pl_94-142.html

Introduction

Hello!

I graduated from ECU in 2005 with a degree in Family and Community Services.  This is my final class to complete my Birth to Kindergarten add on!  I am the Pre-K Licensure/Curriculum Specialist for Lenoir County Schools.  I provide support to all of our preschool classrooms in the county which include 5 More at Four, 3 Exceptional Children’s, and 2 Family Literacy classes.  Before taking on my new role this school year, I was an EC Pre-K Teacher for a self-contained classroom of children with developmental delays.  I also served on our assessment team in which we used a play-based assessment to evaluate preschool children. 

I am very dedicated to my job and serving our children, sometimes too dedicated!  I have a strong passion for early childhood education and making sure that everyone understands the importance of early intervention.  I wish that more people understood that learning begins way before Kindergarten.  Right now I am looking forward to finishing up my BK add-on and I then hope to continue pursuing my master’s degree in administration.  I look forward to an exciting semester filled with learning lots of valuable knowledge.