Legal Rights of Students with Disabilities - Term Paper Example

IDEA incorporates six key components (Mash & Barkley, 2006). Firstly, IDEA provides that each disabled child have access to “Free and Appropriate Public Education” (FAPE), where the parent is not obliged to contribute financially. This ought to be in the normal public schools. However, the child can receive the care in other specialized schools or at home, due to the fragility of his health. Additionally, a child suspected to have a disability ought to undergo an appropriate evaluation by a team of trained personnel.

Besides, the multi-disciplinary team ought to employ various relevant sources in the appraisal process. The child should not undergo unwarranted tests that have a racial and cultural bias. Additionally, the evaluators should gear their tests towards scheduling for the child’s suitable education (Mash & Barkley, 2006). The concerned personnel should be able to determine the child’s eligibility, once they conclude these tests. Evaluation is imperative, since it helps in documentation of the child’s disability.

Therefore, all children suspected of any disabilities ought to undergo the process despite the way it is apparent. The parent should also recognize the usefulness of the information. Moreover, after the evaluation, the child ought to receive personalized education, owing to their exceptional needs. As such, a team of experts places the child under “Individualized Education Program” (IEP). Besides, if a child is below 3, the multidisciplinary team as well as the parents arranges for an “Individualized Family Service Plan” (IFSP), where he or she receives exceptional care within their home settings.

Additionally, the parents are equal constituent of the team, and they ought to be actively involved in all processes of the program. In addition, IDEA aims to ensure that the disabled child has a favorable environment for education, which should be free from restrictions. This improves the child’s learning capacity, thereby reducing chances of being disadvantaged. Besides, experts recommend that children with disabilities should opt for normal school system as their first choice and interact with other children without disabilities.

Moreover, IDEA advocates for LRE, where the child with disability learns together with others for the longest time possible. The act explicitly provides for all learning institutions to educate all children, disregarding their disabilities nature. It is unlawful to discriminate children with disability. Before IDEA implementation, children with disability encountered such discrimination that hampered their development. The fifth principle of IDEA implies that parents and the disabled student (where possible) should actively become involved in the formulation of decisions concerning the education plan of the student (Mash & Barkley, 2006).

In addition, parents or caregivers ought to receive notice from these trained personnel in cases where teachers and other trained personnel change the education plan for the child. The parents and guardians have the obligation to play a part in all meetings and thereby contribute fully in all decision-making processes. The last principle champions for both the parents’, as well as the child’s rights in provision of care and education to the disabled