Americans Disabilities Act

1. Americans Disabilities Act Presented By: Elizabeth Rani (8) Nurita Salem (29) Sa’adahMdRadzali (34) Shobana (36) SockvindarKaur (38)

2. Yes No Has the state reviewed key messages found in the content of the Accommodations Manual? Does the state have written policies and processes that address all of the key messages in the Accommodations Manual? Review the Accommodations Manual Yes No No Remove messages not addressed by state policy Develop needed policies and procedures Yes Is the Accommodations Manual aligned with state policies and procedures? No Align Manual with policies Does the state have existing training materials on accommodations? Yes No Determine how the Accommodations Manual will be integrated with existing materials Use Manual American Act Framework Flowchart

3. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Employees (for any business with 15 or more employers) cannot discriminate against those with disabilities. • Public accommodations (e.g., hotels, restaurants) must have appropriate building codes to allow free access for individuals with disabilities (e.g., ramps for individuals in wheelchairs). • All public transit authorities must have vehicles that allow accessibility for individuals with disabilities. • Companies offering usual telephone services must also provide similar services for individuals with disabilities.

4. No child Left Behind Act • The 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act was reauthorized in 1994 as the improving America’s Education Act, and again in 2002 as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. • One of the basic reform principles of NCLB is stronger accountability for results for all students. Through this federal legislation, in addition to other state and local district initiatives, assessments aimed at increasing accountability provide important information with regard to • how successful schools are including all students in standards-based education, • how well students are achieving standards, and • what needs to be improved upon for specific groups of students.

5. Current Legislation: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act • The two parts of IDEA 04 that have the most relevance for teachers are Part B and Part C. • Part B includes guidelines and funding for providing special education for students ages 3 to 21. • Part C provides funding and guidelines for early intervention services for infant and toddlers with disabilities or who are at risk for developing a disability from birth through age 2, and their families.

6. Provisions and Requirements of IDEA 04 • Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is one such provision for IDEA 04 that will allow children with certain disabilities to receive free public education based on each of their individual needs. IDEA 04 also explains that appropriate education does not necessarily have to be an optimal one. It varies depending on each child’s needs. With this provision set aside by IDEA 04, less-able children will not feel discriminated and they will receive equal treatment just like any normal child. • Child find is another provision of IDEA 04 that will allow us to identify and evaluate children who need special treatment through social efforts and advertisements of special education programs.

7. Provisions and Requirements of IDEA 04 • The Individualized Education Program (IEP) will allow children identified with disabilities to have their own unique education program written by a qualified team which caters to their individual goals and needs. IDEA 04 also has a IEP for toddlers named Individualized family service plan (IFSP) which includes the responsibility of family members as well on top of the individualized education program. • The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is another provision of IDEA 04 that encourages children with disabilities to grow and mix around with normal children. They should not be discriminated or segregated from the rest of their peers unless where necessary. Less able children should be taught and nurtured in a normal education environment.

8. Procedural Guidelines • Test administrators, proctors, and all staff involved in test administration must adhere to these policies. The Code of Professional Responsibilities in Educational Measurement (NCME, 1995) states that test administrators and others involved in assessments must: • administer standardized assessments according to prescribed procedures and conditions and notify appropriate persons if any nonstandard or delimiting conditions occur; • avoid any conditions in the conduct of the assessment that might invalidate the results; • provide for and document all reasonable and allowable accommodations for the administration of the assessment to persons with disabilities or special needs; and • avoid actions or conditions that would permit or encourage individuals or groups to receive scores that misrepresent their actual levels of attainment.

9. Do’s and Don’ts Procedural Guidelines

10. Evaluation Procedures • An evaluation needs to be carried out within 60 days or within the timeframe • Given by the state with parental consent. • Law specifies that re-evaluation needs to be carried out at least once in 3 yrs. • A re-evaluation cannot be conducted unless parents and LEA agrees even than it can only be assessed once a year. • IDEA 04 has set appropriate guidelines that should be followed when assessing students. • Non-discriminatory evaluations are also stated

11. Transition from Part c to preschool Programs • IDEA 04 ensures infants & toddlers have a smooth transition. • Includes people who are working closely to be in the child’s initial IEP team • PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS • All students need to be assessed including students with disability should also be assessed in the same program designed for the rest of the students. • But accommodations be included designed to meet the disability displayed by the student. • Most importantly it should be appropriate, or else an alternative need to be provided.

12. Controversial Issues Addressed by IDEA04 Discipline of students with Disabilities: • Nature of incident • Interim educational placement, not to exceed 45 school days, for incidents involved what is known as Zero Tolerance. • The issue : Zero Tolerance leads to indiscriminate suspensions and expulsions for both serious and mild infractions, rather than increasing the school safety. • Relationship of Incident to Student’s Disability • Kauffman & Hallahan (1995) suggest that, although combining special education & general education looks appealing on the surface, this practice may create an unfair burden on the system to meet the needs of all students. Taylor & Harrington (1998) echo this view. • Authority of LEA • LEA is given the considerable latitude under IDEA 04. Highly Qualified Teachers • The 3 requirements for special education teachers to be considered as highly qualified under IDEA 04. But professionals in the special education field opposed these criteria as they see it to be actually less qualified.