IDEA (Essay Sample)

Legal Aspects of Special Education with an Emphasis in Early Childhood IDEA Position Paper ECS – 220 Your Name Date IDEA Position Paper IDEA part B gives information on how to deal with school-aged children, whereas Part C provides information on how to deal with toddlers. The article used in this paper is the “Comprehensive assessment and evaluation of students with learning disabilities” by Gartland and Strosnisder (2011). The piece is essential as it touches on effectively evaluating and identifying children who may require help from programs to assist students with various disabilities. In recent years there has been a move towards equality and increasing accessibility for individuals with numerous limiting characteristics often referred to as disabilities. In the education sector, innumerable stakeholders have come out to state that there is a need to include learners with various challenges in schools. A perfect example is the development of frameworks for society to achieve this equality. For instance, Hayes and Bulat (2017) developed a guidebook on including children with disabilities in education systems. Furthermore, this train of thought has led to numerous efforts by teachers and other learners to ensure that students with various disabilities feel welcome and pursue their dream careers. However, how does one identify students with challenges in the classroom? There have been numerous tools in existence, but some of them are biased against a particular group in the United States. The Diana Vs. State Board of Education is one such case that highlights this flaw (Lilljevall, 1970). This paper looks at the non-discriminatory identification and appropriate evaluation per the IDEA Act in the Gartland and Strosnider (2011) article. The legal issues from IDEA included in the paper include providing access to special education and other services to individual learners by states. The article points out this legal issue as it compares the scope between the IDEA and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The IDEA similarly requires that students with learning disabilities access individualized programs and goals in addition to participating in the general education programs offered by the educational institution (Gartland & Strosnider, 2011). After providing the various academic programs, individuals who have undergone the courses must undergo an assessment. Furthermore, the lDEA allows the assessor to use other verified methods or interventions to determine whether a student is progressing as required or expected or falls into the body of students requiring further special education or courses to achieve various outcomes in school (Dragoo, 2017). However, assessors should not conduct evaluations in a way that leaves an individual feeling inferior or discriminated against. The assessors must provide evidence that they used appropriate assessment material to determine that any given student has a learning disability requiring that they enroll in any programs for such students (Gartland & Strosnider, 2011). The article goes on further to discuss the criteria for determining any learning disorder and warns against using discriminatory measures. In addition, the legal sections discussed touch on the assessment of a learner by a multidisciplinary assessment team (Office of Special Education Programs, 2011). The article does not, however, forget to indicate the requirement put on the state by the law. The legal requirements in the article focus on accessing and assessing individuals with multiple disorders. Nevertheless, the report highlights some crucial takeaways that can be useful to a professional dealing with learners with numerous challenges within the classroom and education sphere. The information contained in the article applies to the education profession and, as such, can be used to inform best practices. For instance, when it comes to identifying a student for the disability program, professionals working with children must be meticulous when assessing and evaluating various students. Students whose first language is not English, that is, who use it as a second language, should be evaluated carefully regarding literacy and other linguistic tests (Gartland & Strosnider, 2011). The evaluation of such students requires that professionals have a wide area of knowledge to do away with instances of misdiagnosis appropriately. The paper, therefore, highlights this particular body of students as requiring sensitive and highly skilled professionals to conduct the assessments. Similarly, for the various programs intended for students or learners with disabilities to be effective, there is a need for the recruitment of individuals from diverse backgrounds to be some of the assessors and evaluators for the enrolment of learners into various courses available for learners with disabilities. This recruitment will go a long way in reducing biased assessment techniques evident in some criteria used to diagnose learners and students for developmental and learning disorders. Equally, the article requires that all assessors be familiar with the standards used in measuring achievement. In addition to being aware of the expected outcomes of any given grade or level, the assessor must understand that learners take different routes to develop literacy skills and that group assessments are insufficient indicators of learning and developmental disorders. Therefore, the educator in any context must identify the various liter...