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New York City
August 2002

Legal Aspects of Special Education
By Hope Glassberg

Special Education is as much a legal issue as it is an educational one. Several federal laws delineate the ways in which schools handle children with special needs.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA): FERPA states that parents have the right to inspect all of their child’s school records and to correct those records if they are inaccurate. The law also maintains that in most cases, a school cannot disclose information about a child (e.g. academic records) unless the school has express permission from the parents. The school does have the right, however, to disclose directory information about the child, provided the parent is notified. This act has had great legal implications for special education, as parents of children with special needs previously could be kept in the dark if schools made a mistake with their child. Since the passage of FERPA, parents can now vigilantly monitor their child’s progress and the way in which schools deal with their child’s disability.

Sources:
www.ed.gov/offices/OM/ferpa.html;
www.reedmartin.com

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): IDEA was restructured in 1997. The act has four sections: I. General Provisions, II. Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities, III. Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, and IV. National Activities to Improve Education of Children with Disabilities. One particularly important aspect of the restructuring effort was the changes made to Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities. Also, as the American Speech and Language Association website explains, “The IEP members have also been expanded to include, among others, the special education teacher, and the regular education teacher, as appropriate. Related services personnel may be specified as team members by the school or the parents.”

Source:
professional.asha.org/resources/legislative/idea_summary.cfm

The Rehabilitation Act: Section 504 states that “No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States, as defined in section 706(6) of this title, shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency or by the United States Postal Service.” This law has meaning outside the school setting, but within the school context, it provides, most importantly, that special education students will not be denied financial aid or adequate facilities within public schools. Some private schools are designated as “funded,” meaning that some students receive financial aid.

Source:
www.edlaw.net/service/29usc794.html

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Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
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All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2002.


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