SPED / Disability Legislation Flashcards
Federal laws affecting OT in education and early childhood
- IDEA
- ADA
- Rehabilitation Act (section 504)
- NCLB
- Head Start
- Medicaid
IDEA
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
- governs special education
- provides direct programming for children with one of thirteen categories of disabilities (there are hundreds of disabilities)
- mandates OT as related service for eligible students 3-21 who benefit from Part B
- or primary service for kids 0-3 though Part C
IDEA
Part A: General Provisions
Part B: Assistance for Education for Children with Disabilities
Part C: Early Intervention System
Part D: National Activities to Improve Education of Children with Disabilities
Major elements of Part B, IDEA
- Zero-reject
- Protection in evaluation
- FAPE
- LRE
- Procedural safeguards
- Parent participation
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all programs that receive federal funds, including public schools
- a far-reaching law that extends protections to individuals with disabilities in most aspects of their lives
Section 504
- a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities
- ensures that the child with a disability has equal access to an education
- child may receive accommodations and modifications
- unlike IDEA, this law does not require the school to provide an individualized educational program (IEP) designed to meet the child’s unique needs
- fewer procedural safeguards available to children with disabilities and their families than under IDEA.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act are responsible for accommodations and modifications in testing situations and programs, and improved building accessibility. These statutes do not require public schools to provide an educational program that is individualized to meet the unique needs of a child with the goal of enabling the child to become independent and self- sufficient. You learned that the child with a Section 504 plan does not have the protections available to the child who has an IEP under the IDEA.
IDEA vs. Section 504
IDEA
- Legal document
- Children must be qualified for special education services
- Has an IEP
- Has a disability
Section 504
- Legal document
- Children are not qualified for special education services
- No IEP
- Has a disability
ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act
- primarily provides for accessibility of the physical structure of a school, including washrooms, access to playgrounds, lift buses, etc.
- also prohibits discrimination against children with disabilities in school programming
NCLB
No Child Left Behind
- the 2001 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
- requires public schools to raise academic achievement of all students, particularly minority students, poor students, students with disabilities and students with limited proficiency in English
- not a special education law – it is an education law that does have provisions for students with disabilities
- when IDEA was reauthorized in 2004, it closely aligned with NCLB
Head Start
- federal program that promotes school readiness for preschool aged children
- The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private agencies to provides comprehensive child development services.
- not a special education law, but is focused on children at risk for educational issues
Medicaid
- federal-state match entitlement program that provides medical and health services for low-income people
- OT is an optional service under the state plan, but mandatory for children and young under the Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment Program
ADA Amendments Act
signed in Sept, 2008
emphasizes that “disability” should be construed to favor coverage of individuals to max extent poss.
changes definition of “disability” by rejecting parts of S.C. decisions / EEOC’s ADA regulations, which:
makes it easier for individual seeking protection under ADA to establish a disability
retains ADA basic definition of “disability” as impairment that substantially limits 1 or more major life activities; changes interpretation of these terms
Most significant changes from ADA Amendments Act
- directs EEOC to revise portion of regulations defining the term “substantially limits”
- expands def. of “major life activities” by including two non-exhaustive lists:
- FIRST LIST: includes activities that EEOC has recognized (e.g., walking) and activities EEOC has not recognized (reading, bending, communicating)
- SECOND LIST: includes major bodily functions (e.g., “functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions”)
- clarifies that a impairment that is episodic or in remission counts if it substantially limits major life activity when active
- changes definition of “regarded as” - now says applicant / employee is “regarded as” disabled if subject to an action prohibited by the ADA (e.g., failure to hire or termination) based on impairment that is not transitory and minor
SPED process
- Child identified as needing special ed. and related services
- Child evaluated
- eligibility decided
- Child found eligible
- IEP meeting scheduled
- IEP meeting held; IEP written
- Services provided.
- Progress is measured and reported to parents.
- IEP is reviewed.
- Child is reevaluated.
To determine disability in a child:
“Local Education Agency (LEA) shall draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, parent input, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background, adaptive behavior”
