LUO Our Fight For Disability Rights Discussion
In this week’s presentation, Our Fight for Disability Rights – and Why We’re Not Done Yet, Judith Heumann shares the story behind the groundbreaking protest referred to as the Section 504 sit-in. She reminds viewers that, forty years later, there is still work to do.
Answer the following questions and respond to the discussion boards.
Why did you choose to pursue this degree in special education?
From your personal experiences, what relevant issues have you personally faced or are familiar with specific to disability rights?
If you were to choose a groundbreaking, worthy-of-protest issue today, which issue would you choose and why?
Discussion board #1: I decided to pursue this degree in special education because once I found my career in special education, which took me longer than some people who become teachers, I wanted to dive into it full force. I want to learn as much as I can and become more educated in special education to better my students and myself as a teacher. “Education is not something you can finish” by Isaac Asimov (an American writer and professor) is one of my favorite quotes. Especially as educators, we should never believe we are done educating ourselves. We should always seek to gain more knowledge to better ourselves for our students.
Technology is something that is a relevant issue today and I think moving forward it will only continue to be to a relevant issue as it continues to advance and there continues to be a push for it. Technology has greatly helped special education, especially in terms of assistive technology. I have had several students in my teaching career who are nonverbal and use assistive technology. These assistive devices allow those students to express their wants and needs because they are unable to naturally speak. Essentially these devices are those student’s voice. One issue I have personally faced was a few years ago the district decided that these nonverbal students could no longer take their assistive devices home over the summer break. This infuriated me because without those devices these students could not speak. We work so hard all year to improve the student’s skills with their assistive devices so they can improve their communication skills and taking their device away from them for 3 months would be so detrimental to their communication skills, but it was what the district stated we had to do. I pushed back and I explained my reasonings, but they still made it a requirement. I felt like it was their right to keep their device, but it was owned by the school at the end of the day, they make the rules unfortunately. They stated parents needed to provide their child with a device over the summer, which I also disagreed with because those devices cost hundreds of dollars and that is not feasible for many families. It is a situation that still bothers me today because I feel it was wrong to do that to these students.
If I were to choose a groundbreaking, worthy-of-protest issue today I think it would have to be to push for the least restrictive environment/integration for special education students. While writing my Historical Review Paper I read that many years ago special education once was considered a “place”. However, it now should be considered a set of services (West et al., 2022). I really love that mindset. Special education is not a location or a set place. It is resources and services that can go where ever the student goes, because again, special education is not a place. I think that is so important to remember. The integration of special education students is a protest worthy issue because special education students have the right to experience all of the things general education students do. Lastly, a Bible verse which relates to integration and the acceptance of others is in Romans chapter 15 verse 7, which states “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (King James Bible, 1769/n.d., Romans 15:7).
References
King James Bible. (n.d.). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
(Original work published 1769).
West, J. E., McLaughlin, V. L., Shepherd, K. G., & Cokley, R. (2022). The Americans with disabilities act and the individuals with disabilities education act: Intersection, divergence, and the path forward. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 104420732211141. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073221114113
Discussion Board#2:While growing up, any time I was to be asked the infamous question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?,” I would reply, “A Teacher!” I just always knew I wanted to educate children. At a very young age, I would find myself paying close to attention to the students that were in the other classrooms. These classrooms were separate from ours. I already knew, as a child, that something was just not right. As I began my undergraduate degree at Rhode Island College, I was on track to obtain my full teaching certification in Elementary Education. As part of the teacher preparatory program, our practicum experiences fully immersed us in different types of educational settings. While in these practicums, I was drawn to the students in Special Education. I wanted to learn as much as I could in how to educate these children. I saw their individual differences as an opportunity to challenge my skillset as a new teacher. From the day I graduated in 2010, Special Education has been my passion. Thirteen years later, as I am in the beginning stages of working towards earning my Ph.D. in Special Education, I still feel as though I have so much to learn. Through our ever-changing times, Special Education is never stagnant. Strategies in teaching, new curricula, forms of assessment, and research is the driving force for all us to continue our education. I truly believe we are all lifelong learners and our greatest teachers are the students.
The rights of our students holds a vast amount of importance in my daily work. Knowledge and true understanding of the Special Education Regulations in RI is imperative in my current role as a District Level Special Education Administrator. I have found that while working with various LEA’s within the state of RI, the rights of the parents, in accordance to the RI Procedural Safeguards are not always being adequately met. Too often, parents are notified after the decision has been made, that their child has been discharged from their educational placement. This is often due to behavioral difficulties. This astounds me and I question, how does this even happen? Unfortunately, I feel as though due to the teacher shortage, and the financial burden on school districts, the rights of the students and parents/guardians are not always met.
A ground-breaking, worthy-of-protest issue that I would choose and continue to fight for is for students in special education to be able to always be placed in the LRE. Far too often, I am experiencing students being referred to my school for reasons that do not warrant a more restrictive placement. The lack of resources and educational placements in our state of RI are minimal. It is a scary time for all of us, as some school districts have been taken over by the state due to lack of academic achievement. The graduation rates are decreasing, as well as the number of teachers.
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