The Pros And Cons Of Special Education

Special Education Reform Changes: Positive and Negative
Ericka Golden
Grand Canyon University: EDU-535
12/17/2014

One of the most significant changes in special education has be the: 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act was a groundbreaking law that established the fundamental parameters of how special education services are defined and implemented in the United States. Key provisions such as a free appropriate public education (FAPE), individualized education programs (IEP), least restrictive environment (LRE), and procedural safeguards (such as due process procedures) defined in the original statute remained primary to the law in subsequent reauthorizations. Many children and youth
with disabilities were excluded from public schooling. For the majority of those students, that meant lack of access to appropriate assessment, education, rehabilitative services, and community support. This has been positive because it has given students with handicaps and opportunity to learn in the same manner that children with no disabilities have learned. The students have also been afforded free education and no in a secluded environment. In my opinion one of the negatives is that placing students with special education needs in an environment where children do not have special needs may cause them to blend in or get lost meaning people may forget or overlook that they require more and can put them at a more disadvantage on getting the proper education that they truly need. The second significant change in special education happened again in 1975 was the federal government realizing and providing more money for special education. This is great because schools need this money to make sure that proper and adequate learning environments are in place for students that require special education. Unfortunately, the government for one reason or another has never been able to fulfill this promise. Due to this, over the years a better system and effort has to create in order to provide fund to the states. The last significant change in special education reform I thought about was the Due to the contemporary educational reform, the movement of teachers’ preparation The current study aimed at exploring Professional Competencies among special education pre-service teachers and the level of their competencies’ practice from their perspectives. Professional competence for special education teachers’ scale was developed. The negative part of this is that even though this was put in place there is still a shortage of qualified special education teachers. Shortages are because of licensure area, geographical location and diversity in the workplace. High attritions rates in special education have been argued the reason for chronic teacher shortages. One of the negative things along with teacher shortages is that there is a gap between what is known about the effective classroom practices and what teachers actually do. Great advances in special education for different areas have been a strong force in bringing the issue to the spotlight. State lawmakers are hesitant to support more professional development adequately leaving teachers at a major disadvantage. Therefore, programs that should prepare a novice teacher to excel and research based principles are non- existent.

There are many positive and negative reforms that have gone into place where special education is concerned.
While many stride and changes have been made so have promised for a reform in different areas have failed through the cracks. Teachers are short and left with no solutions therefore students are not equipped or in environments that can really educate them in a valuable way to make sure that the are equipped and have the knowledge and skills in a system that was created to make their education equal. It makes me wonder if secluded children with special needs were a better idea because it put them in an environment not to make them different but where they could stand out. Sometimes in looking at what has happen or the areas in special education that continues to need to be reform I wonder is blending them holding them back from having the knowledge they need to be able to better blend in later in life, where it really counts. For every positive this is a negative and for every negative there are positive changes that have been made. The main thing is to stay focus and never stop pushing to make things better. These children are depending on us and while they all may have different needs they are the face of our future therefore it is important to be able to equip them and educate
them.