Changes in History
People with disabilities marginalized or shunned in past history. People were institutionalized for having a disability simply because doctors were ignorant of their patients disabilities. People used to think that if someone had a disability that they were sick and that they had no potential. But this idea was proven wrong many times, but no one advocated for people with disabilities, so no policies were changed or reformed. During war times, veterans would come back with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and doctors just called it off as shell shock or cowardice. The veterans didn't have disabilities, rather mental illnesses, but they brought awareness to all of those with limitations such as amputees to cerebral palsy. This awareness shined a light on people with disabilities and people began to see them in this new light. The common thought before was that people that were disabled were just that, disabled; but with the newfound popularity came newfound fame. Individuals such as Ray Charles, Beethoven, Stephen Hawking, and many others were being discovered, or re-discovered. This brought about a change in common thought. People now view those with disabilities as having a limitation in one area and meeting, if not exceeding, "standards" in others. Individuals with disabilities are now treated as people that just do not excel in some areas, but are simply people.
Reformations to the classroom
- No Child Left Behind - States are required to test students via standardized test to evaluate the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). If the students don't meet the APY, the schools go through scrutiny and can receive sanctions. This means that students with disabilities get highly qualified teachers to run their classes.
- IDEA - under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, states and public agencies are required to give early intervention and special education. Different students receive different education so IDEA makes sure that all students receive a free and education that is tailored to suit their needs.
Impact on Classrooms in Austin, Texas
Mrs. Patricia Rusthoven not only teaches special education, but is also the Special Education Department Chair at Cowan Elementary. She has been working with special education students since she was a high school student. As a student she would volunteer to work with life skills students. She continued her work by becoming a special education teacher. Last year she won teacher of the year at Cowan Elementary. Her award attests to her teaching skills at Cowan and her management skills. Each student in Mrs. Rusthoven's program has his or her own needs and curriculum, but each student still needs to learn the curriculum for the grade level standardized tests.
Mrs. Rusthoven works with Cowan's Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD). The PPCD mirrors the standard pre-K and Kindergarden programs as much as possible so that the transition for the PPCD students into general education goes smoothly. Mrs. Rusthoven's efforts are often impeded by a lack of resources or materials. For example, she has been trying to get the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness program the special education department. The funding has not been available in her budget, other departments have their own budgets which creates a barrier to shared funding, and getting additional funding from the district is a difficult and time consuming process.
Texas has a limited budget for special education. The limited budget only allows for a certain percentage of students that can be educated within the special education programs. If a life skills program has an overflow of students, the teachers will be outnumbered and will not be able to tailor curriculum very well, so to keep the quality of education for life skills students high, Texas limits the number of students in special education programs. The Houston Chronicle conducted an investigation and found that Texas has the lowest percentage of students in special education across the country at 8.5% of students. At Cowan, and many other schools, staffing is an issue. The number of students is directly correlated with the number of teachers in a like skills classroom; students cannot just be added to a class like they would be in a grade-level classroom setting. More teachers are necessary for more students so that each student can have a high quality education.
Mrs. Rusthoven works with Cowan's Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (PPCD). The PPCD mirrors the standard pre-K and Kindergarden programs as much as possible so that the transition for the PPCD students into general education goes smoothly. Mrs. Rusthoven's efforts are often impeded by a lack of resources or materials. For example, she has been trying to get the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness program the special education department. The funding has not been available in her budget, other departments have their own budgets which creates a barrier to shared funding, and getting additional funding from the district is a difficult and time consuming process.
Texas has a limited budget for special education. The limited budget only allows for a certain percentage of students that can be educated within the special education programs. If a life skills program has an overflow of students, the teachers will be outnumbered and will not be able to tailor curriculum very well, so to keep the quality of education for life skills students high, Texas limits the number of students in special education programs. The Houston Chronicle conducted an investigation and found that Texas has the lowest percentage of students in special education across the country at 8.5% of students. At Cowan, and many other schools, staffing is an issue. The number of students is directly correlated with the number of teachers in a like skills classroom; students cannot just be added to a class like they would be in a grade-level classroom setting. More teachers are necessary for more students so that each student can have a high quality education.