Disabled Education

Enacted in 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act – now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides all children with the right to a free and appropriate public education. On the face of it, the IDEA is a shining example of law’s democratizing impulse. But is that really the case? In Disabled Education, Ruth Colker digs deep beneath the IDEA’s surface and reveals that the IDEA contains flaws that were evident at the time of its enactment that limit its effectiveness for poor and minority children. Both an expert in disability law and the mother of a child with a hearing impairment, Colker learned first-hand of the Act’s limitations when she embarked on a legal battle to persuade her son’s school to accommodate his impairment. Colker was able to devote the considerable resources of a middle-class lawyer to her struggle and ultimately won, but she knew that the IDEA would not have benefitted her son without her time-consuming and costly legal intervention. Her experience led her to investigate other cases, which confirmed her suspicions that the IDEA best serves those with the resources to advocate strongly for their children. The IDEA also works only as well as the rest of the system does: struggling schools that serve primarily poor students of color rarely have the funds to provide appropriate special education and related services to their students with disabilities. Through a close examination of the historical evolution of the IDEA, the actual experiences of children who fought for their education in court, and social science literature on the meaning of “learning disability,” Colker reveals the IDEA’s shortcomings, but also suggests ways in which resources might be allocated more evenly along class lines.

“For the first time, this book tells the stories of the families who set key precedents for children with special needs. It also gives a novel and in-depth description of the political and legislative process of the landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. In so doing, Colker offers an unprecedented historical account of this law, while also offering a timely critique and suggestions for reform.” —Julie K. Waterstone, Southwestern Law School Enacted in 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides all children with the right to a free and appropriate public education. On the face of it, the IDEA is a shining example of law’s democratizing impulse. But is that really the case? In Disabled Education, Ruth Colker digs deep beneath the IDEA’s surface and reveals that the IDEA contains flaws that were evident at the time of its enactment that limit its effectiveness for poor and minority children. Through an examination of the evolution of the IDEA, the experiences of children who fought for their education in court, and social science literature on the meaning of “learning disability,” Colker reveals the IDEA’s shortcomings, but also suggests ways in which resources might be allocated more evenly along class lines. Ruth Colker is Distinguished University Professor and Heck-Faust Memorial Chair in Constitutional Law at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. Previous books include American Law in the Age of Hypercapitalism (NYU Press 1998) and The Disability Pendulum: The First Decade of the Americans with Disabilities Act (NYU Press 2005).

The book describes how education in particular helps make persons with disabilities achieve economic independence and social inclusion.

Places notions of disability at the center of higher education and argues that inclusiveness allows for a better education for everyone

The decision to go to college is a big one. It signifies a transition into young adulthood and the increasing expectations for independence that can feel exciting, liberating, and daunting! For students with disabilities this transition may be even more challenging. Despite the challenges, more and more students with disabilities are attending postsecondary colleges and universities. While this is certainly encouraging, students with disabilities are less likely to successfully complete their postsecondary programs when compared with their general population peers. So, what do we do? We can learn from our successes during early education and from successful postsecondary programs, taking what we have learned and bring these lessons to scale so that fully inclusive postsecondary programs are available for all students with special education needs. This book was originally published as a special issue of European Journal of Special Needs Education.

As a social justice endeavor, one of the goals of inclusive education is to bolster the education of all students by promoting equal opportunities for all, and investing sufficient support, curriculum and pedagogy that cultivates high self-concepts, emphasizes students’ strengths rather than weaknesses, and assists students to reach their optimal potential to make a contribution to society. Dedicated to the identification of international strategies to achieve this goal, Inclusive Education for Students with Intellectual Disabilities presents examples of theory, research, policy, and practice that will advance our understanding of how best to educate and more generally structure educational environments to promote social justice and equity. Importantly, this discussion transcends research methodology, context, and geographical locations and may lead to far-reaching applications. As such, the focus is placed on research-derived educational and psycho-educative practices that seed success for students with intellectual disabilities in inclusive educational settings and the volume showcases new directions in theory, research, and practice that may inform the education and psychosocial development of students with intellectual disabilities globally. The chapter contributors in this volume consist of 31 scholars from ten different countries, and they come from a great variety of research areas (i.e., teacher education, educational psychology, special education and disability policy, special needs and inclusive education, health sciences). This volume, with a series of subsections, offers insights and useful strategies to promote meaningful advances for students with intellectual disabilities globally.

First published in 1985. Information technology can offer huge benefits to the disabled. It can help many disabled people to overcome barriers of time and space and to a much greater extent it can help them to overcome barriers of communication. In that way new information technology offers opportunities to neutralise the worst effects of many kinds of disablement. This book reviews the possibilities of using information technology in the education of the disabled. Commencing with an assessment of the learning problems faced by disabled people, it goes on to look at the scope of information technology and how it has been used for the education of students of all ages, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. A penultimate section considers most of the contentious issues that faced users of technology, whilst the conclusion devotes itself to the immediate and longer-term future, suggesting possible future trends and the consequent problems that may arise.

This excellent resource provides an approach to research and evaluation that helps educators better understand and address the needs of students with various disabilities.