Laws for Improvement in Educational Standards
Laws for the Improvement in Educational Standards “No Child Left Behind is an excellent sword that we can use to open doors for the children we represent” (Wright, Attorney at Law). Peter Wright is an attorney who specializes in cases surrounding children with Special Educational needs. When he made this statement, he was referring to a law that President George W. Bush’s administration passed in 2001. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a law that requires states to assess the basic skills for children in certain grades. This was not the first law to be created by the government. Before NCLB was created, first there was Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the second was the Individual with Disabilities Educational Improvement Act (IDEIA) also known as Public Law 94-142. Every since the first law was created in the early 1970s schools all over have complained. So schools would not have to abide by these laws states would refuse the funding that was given to them by the government for education. When these laws were created, it was to protect all children with any kind of special needs. Before Section 504 was created schools could legally expel any child they thought may have had a learning disability.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
In 1973 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was created to be an anti-discrimination statute meant to stop discrimination against students with special needs from governmental actors and to protect these students’ equal rights. For a student to qualify for protection under Section 504 he or she must be determined to (1) have a physical or mental impairment that can limit one or more major life activities; (2) it must be on record that the child does have an impairment; or (3) the child must be looked at as possessing said impairment. All students who qualify under Section 504 are entitled to a “free and appropriate public education” also known as FAPE. If a school violated the Section 504 laws the student
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
In 1973 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was created to be an anti-discrimination statute meant to stop discrimination against students with special needs from governmental actors and to protect these students’ equal rights. For a student to qualify for protection under Section 504 he or she must be determined to (1) have a physical or mental impairment that can limit one or more major life activities; (2) it must be on record that the child does have an impairment; or (3) the child must be looked at as possessing said impairment. All students who qualify under Section 504 are entitled to a “free and appropriate public education” also known as FAPE. If a school violated the Section 504 laws the student
References: Author unknown (September 2010) Adequate Yearly Progress, Education Week Retrieved on May 23, 2011, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/adequate-yearly-progress/ Berlatsky, N. (2011) No Child Left Behind Is a Good Law. Opposing Viewpoints: School Reform. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, from Powersearch. Hoffman-Peak, H. (Summer 2009) A Matrimonial Practitioner’s Guide to Special Education Law. American Journal of Family Law. Retrieved May 19, 2011 from, Powersearch Maleyko, G., Gawlik, M.A. (Spring 2011) No child left behind: what we know and what we need to know. Education. Retrieved on May 19, 2011, from Powersearch Us Department of Education (August 2010) Free Appropriate Public Education for Student With Disabilities. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/edlite-FAPE504.html US Government, (March 2010). A Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. ED.gov. Retrieved on May 20, 2011, from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/publicationtoc.html