In the United States, National Special Education Day is celebrated on December 2nd. This day to celebrates the Act of IDEA which was made on December 2nd, 1975. IDEA is a federal law that mandates provision of education to children with disabilities in the least intrusive environment while improving on their previous education.
National Special Education Day is a call for people to think about inclusive education and how the students with disabilities have been affected. This special children center group home plays a vital role. It is also the time when everyone should celebrate to honor special education teachers, educators, parents, and all the advocates for equal education for disabled students.
Special Education Day: National History
The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the past when few children with disabilities were provided education and many of them were sent out of school. This changed when in 1975 the Congress enacted Public Law 94-142 that mandated a free and appropriate public education for any individuals with disabilities. This law was later renamed to IDEA in 1990 The federal requirements of this law are provided below:
IDEA has been revised severally right from its establishment in order to provide for the effectiveness of education and support services to students with disabilities. The law went through reauthorization in the year 2004 and was renamed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), provisions included increased funding, early intervention services, and those learners exiting the TEA for services.
The Impact of IDEA
The federal policy known as IDEA has greatly affected the United States of America education systems. Earlier, one out of every five children with disabilities went to school after the Disability Act came to force. Currently, over 6 million children with such disabilities are enrolled for special education in schools across this nation.
The law also makes it impossible for students with disability to be put in a different school or class with students with disability instead of being with all other students. This has brought about changes in the learners’ population where many schools are admitting students with disabilities as others within the society.
Also, the IDEA entails the provision of Individual Education Plan or common referred to as IEP for any student with a disability documents his or her special needs and the factors that need to be provided to assists him/her in schooling.
The nine day festival is all about inclusion of Disabled people into our communities and empowrment. National Special Education Day is important to emphasize that inclusion is essential for both disabled children to be able to grow and embrace the community. It also gives appreciation for favorable disability representations and the stories of triumphs among such persons.
Having education for all is important for the integration of students with disabilities integrated into mainstream schools as it also has a knock on effect on the rest of students in the schools. Students’ perception of their fellow students is changed and this acts as a big way of teaching students tolerance and acceptance of fellow students.
In addition, inclusive education enables the learners to farm right education experiences for life, interpersonal and learning skills and foster independence. It also equips them with all that they require as they have to be their own lobbyists for their rights in future.
Carryroof on the Fight for Equal Opportunities
Despite these improvements, much more effort is still required in increasing post IDEA achievements. Disabled students still struggle to get quality education as well as to be effectively integrated in all facets of learning institution.
Special education is a right not a privilege, and while we are honoring National Special Education Day today, the advocacy should continue beyond today. It is incumbent upon us to fight for equal rights for the disabled and make the necessary changes to education for special needs children not only persistently asserted but refined as well.
We can also help organizations for people with disabilities like The Arc or Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. Moreover, self and others can learn about special education as well as the realization of integration of such students.
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