Engaging in physical activity is important for school-age children, as it promotes a healthy and active lifestyle. However, barriers to participation in physical education and athletics often prevent students with disabilities from engaging in these important activities. There are several legal precedents that should be considered as schools seek…

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability promotes equal and full participation by children in education. Equity of educational access for all students, including students with disability, free from discrimination, is the first-stated national goal of Australian education. Australian federal disability discrimination law, the…

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that may influence school administrators' disciplinary decisions involving students with disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the investigator-developed measures adequately represent the hypothesized latent factors per the pattern of observed responses. The hypothesized…

As someone charged with ensuring equality in the school environment, teachers have heard the term "inclusion"--the principle that students with special needs, skill sets, and abilities should be integrated in publicly supported activities to the same extent as their nondisabled peers. However, the word inclusion--in and of itself--does…

A recent review of educational provision for children with special educational needs by the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee in 2006 singled out children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) as being in need of special attention and highlighted the frustration felt by parents. One implication is that parents of children with ASD…

The four Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Education for All Handicapped Children Act which have been handed down to date are reviewed: Board of Education v. Rowley (1982), Irving v. Tatro (1984), Smith v. Robinson (1984), and Burlington v. Department of Education (1985). Implications and pending legislation are discussed. (JW)

This pamphlet outlines requirements for a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities under Section 540 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Requirements include: (1) ensuring that all school age children who have disabilities are entitled to FAPE; (2) providing an appropriate education that includes educational…

This policy brief reports on an analysis of the legislation establishing charter schools in the 19 states that had such legislation as of December 1995. It identifies provisions in the state legislation which specify anti-discrimination policies and clauses, the inclusion of students at risk or students with disabilities, fiscal provisions,…

This fact sheet describes provisions under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) that prohibit the discriminatory assignment of students with disabilities to segregated classes or facilities. In elementary and secondary schools, students with disabilities may be assigned to…

Designed for educators, this guide provides an overview of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, compares and contrasts Section 504 with the requirements of the federal special education statute of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and discusses how powerful Section 504 is as a…

"Special Education Law," by Laura F. Rothstein, is organized into three major segments: (1) conceptual background material about the history of special education law; (2) analysis of issues in identification, evaluation, programing, placement, provision of related services, and due process protection; and (3) more esoteric legal matters.…

This report calls for the phased closure of separate, special schools in the United Kingdom as a main task in developing inclusive education. It argues that the central problem in the development of inclusive education in the United Kingdom is the continuing philosophical, financial and legislative support of segregated schooling. The report…

This pamphlet summarizes the responsibilities of school officials under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in administering nondiscriminatory disciplinary sanctions in the form of long-term suspension or expulsion of students with disabilities. It also summarizes the rights of disabled students and their parents or guardians in…

This collection of issue papers addresses the inclusion of students with disabilities who are labeled disruptive in general education classrooms. The publication begins by summarizing new provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997. The provisions make it clearer that students with disabilities must be…

This paper raises issues relating to disability and citizenship, especially those concerned with difference, discrimination, power, and the politics of identity. It adopts a social model of disability that is critical of individualized, homogenized, deficit views of people with disabilities and urges an equal opportunities approach in which the…