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Credits: Dr. Linda Parrish; Dr. Tracy Teaff; Dr. Jewel Lockridge; Dr. Lakshmi Mahadevan; Mr. Greg Shipp and Ms. Cheryl Grenwelge.
Note: Our experts are not attorneys and therefore our responses do not carry legal authority. We strongly recommend that educators check with their district’s attorneys for guidance on legal issues.
Definitions
- What students qualify for services in Special Education?
- What are the specific definitions of deaf and of hard of hearing to be classified as having a disability?
- Can students who have epilepsy qualify under IDEA?
- I don’t understand the difference between Special Education and Inclusion.
What students qualify for services in Special Education?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) gives definitions for 13 disabilities, plus an overall, non-specific definition for students, ages 3-9, who may have “developmental disabilities.” These 13 are: Mental Retardation, Hearing impairment, Deafness, Speech / language impairment, Autism, Emotional disturbance, Specific Learning Disability, Traumatic brain injury, Visual impairment (including blindness), Orthopedic impairment, Other health impairment, Deaf-blind, and Multiple disabilities. In order to receive Special Education services a students MUST: a) be diagnosed has having one of these areas of disability AND b) need services.
What are the specific definitions of deaf and of hard of hearing to be classified as having a disability?
IDEA regulations (34 CFR 300.1-300.756) have definitions for Deaf and Hearing Impairment. They are as follows:
· Deaf: Deafness means a hearing impairment that is so severe that the child is impaired in processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
· Hearing Impairment: Hearing impairment means an impairment in hearing, whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance but that is not included under the definition of deafness
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Can students who have epilepsy qualify under IDEA?
Yes, students who meet the requirement of Other Health Impaired may be served by Special Education.
I don’t understand the difference between Special Education and Inclusion.
Special Education is defined by IDEA as: “specially designed instruction provided at no cost to parents in all settings (such as the classroom, physical education facilities, the home, and hospitals of institutions). Inclusion is NOT defined in IDEA, but Least restrictive environment is. LRE is: ”to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular education environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily (20 U.S.C. 1412 (5) (b). Inclusion, like mainstreaming, is educational jargon. Least restrictive environment is defined legally. Some scholars have described inclusion as “push-in” rather than “pull-out” instruction, but be assured that it means that students with disabilities will be in the regular/general education setting. You can find the IDEA statute (law) and regulations at this web address: http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&WebsiteKey=ccc2b576-80bf-48af-8827-0acb530166fb or http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/reg/edpicks.jhtml?src=ln. Another resource is LexisNexis, which provides authoritative legal information, including case law, online. Some libraries are subscribers of this powerful service:http://global.lexisnexis.com/us. You can also read Hearing Officer rulings on cases in
Last updated: 11 August, 2008
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