Welcome back! I am looking forward to meeting all of you and spending a wonderful year with my new students. I respect and value the qualities and strengths each and every student brings to my classroom. Each year is full of successes and challenges, and I find that I learn as much from my students as they learn from me.
I will be sending out monthly newsletters to familiarize you with what is happening in our classroom. This month's will be focused on several pieces of legislature that may affect your children or your children's friends. There are three acts dealing with Special Education, and I would like to share some information my fellow teachers and I have collected.
The first act is IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Act. IDEA guarantees the right to a free and appropriate education to students with disabilities. The goal of IDEA is to prepare students with disabilities for employment and independent living. To receive an IEP, Individualized Education Program, students must be evaluated. The IEP is a program made specifically for the benefit of one student and may involve special classroom considerations and time in a resource room. Please refer to my blog http://iblog-christie.blogspot.com/, "IDEA Legislation," for more info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individualized_Education_Program
http://www.agbell.org/docs/agreatidea.pdf
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home
The second act is the Assistive Technology Act. This act affirms the federal role of promoting access to assistive technology devices and services for individuals with disabilities. It guarantees funding for states to be spent on technology, which is important because the ability to use technology in business, government, communication, commerce, and education impacts every person in America. By using assisstive technology, students with disabilities will be able to live independently, live full lives, and participate in all aspects of society. Please see my colleague Dawn Marie Rupp's blog http://aboutmeedtech202.blogspot.com/ for more information.
The last act is the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, and also ensures them equal opportunity for employment. If an employee can perform the tasks needed for the job, with or without reasonable accommodation, then the employer is required to make the changes unless it poses unreasonable expenses or is extremely difficult to make. For more information please visit Tiffany Bailey's blog at http://tiffanyannbailey.blogspot.com/
www.ada.gov
After assessing my students this month, I will be deciding on what aspects of these three legislative acts will most directly affect our classroom. I will share any technological developments with you in next month's newsletter. This is a lot if information on this topic, however I feel that the more we know the more understanding we will be. If you have any questions regarding this letter or anything else in the classroom, please feel free to contact me. Thank you!
Christie Nichols
Campus School
http://iblog-christie.blogspot.com/
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