Your
Child’s Educational Rights
Written
by Valerie St. Germain
Thanks
to the insights of our founding fathers, every child born
in our great country is entitled to an education. How fortunate
we are to live in a nation where education is a birth right!
Thomas Jefferson was the first to suggest free public education
for all of America’s children and by the mid 1800s, compulsory
education was mandated in nearly every state, at least through
elementary school. However, throughout the history of public
education, parents of students with disabilities have had
to fight for their children’s right to an education. In time,
their voices were heard and legislation was enacted giving
all students the right to a free public education. This month’s
feature will highlight the main points of two important and
empowering mandates related to your child’s educational rights
as well as procedures for referring students for special education
consideration.
In
the interest of civil rights, the Fourteenth Amendment was
added to the Constitution so that all individuals living in
the US share equal rights. In education, this concept guarantees
every child a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE
is the foundation for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (Sec. 504) and the Individuals With Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) as amended in 2004, are the two laws that serve
to protect your child’s educational rights.
Sec.
504 refers to anyone with a condition that substantially limits
a major life activity. If your child has an ADHD diagnosis
it may substantially interfere with their ability to learn.
Because learning is considered a major life activity, your
child would be eligible for academic accommodations under
the law. Eligibility requires documentation of the condition
from a professional who is qualified to make the diagnoses
but should also include examples of the imposed limitations.
Compliance with Sec. 504 requires the school to develop an
accommodation plan that ensures the students’ needs are met
and to the same extent as any other student. The main objective
of Sec. 504 legislation is to ensure that every student is
given an equal opportunity to receive an equal education.
IDEA
refers only to students who are considered eligible to receive
special education services. Understand that special education
of today is not the special education you may remember from
your school experiences. Contemporary special education refers
to a broad range of services delivered by a broad range of
professionals who have expertise in a specific area of education
and/or child development, such as speech and language clinicians,
occupational therapists, physical therapists, and special
education teachers who are licensed to teach students with
disabilities. But how do you know if your child is eligible
to receive special education services?
One
way to find out is to request that your child be evaluated
for special education services. IDEA gives you the right to
request an evaluation but there must be a valid reason for
doing so. Students who make too slow or too little progress
are good candidates for an evaluation. If that describes your
child’s situation, chances are school personnel have already
initiated an evaluation, but if they haven’t, you have the
right to request one.
IDEA
mandates a very specific process for determining eligibility
for special education services. Most important is its general
education intervention requirement. Your child’s teacher must
try many different interventions and document their results
before a complete evaluation is justified. If behavior is
a problem, a behavior intervention plan should be developed
and implemented with behavior results documented as well.
Enough time must be given in order to assess the effectiveness
of the interventions and to make decisions about how to proceed.
However, if your child is experiencing constant failure, the
process can be expedited.
The
next step mandated by IDEA is the referral process and will
be the topic for next month’s education feature. Remember,
the more you know about what drives the education process,
the more empowered you are to advocate for your child’s educational
rights!
