Special Populations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Special Populations - Research Paper Example This paper will research special education in the Carroll Independent School District (CISD) of Texas. The boundaries of school districts in Texas do not always align with city or county boundaries, whereby one district may occupy several cities or counties, while some of the larger cities may be divided between several school districts. Although most special education students are disproportionately English language learners, minority and the poor, the CISD indiscriminately serves 11 schools in the upper income area of Dallas, Texas. It is the largest school district to have been rated by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) as exemplary in performance, recording an exceptional zero percent dropout rate and 97 percent attendance in 2007, a rating it holds to date. CISD believes that for majority of its special education students to achieve the same standards as other students, they ought to be given specially designed support, instruction, accommodation and appropriate access as require d by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Texas is among the states in America that have worked for a few decades to have all students included in their education systems. The commitment has seeped into both the provision of education serves and approaches employed in evaluating the system’s success in a bid to meet all the students’ needs. CISD believes that students with special needs deserve more than pity or protection from the high expectations associated with non-special students. They should also not be excluded from necessary assessments that indicate whether they are progressing towards the expectations as desired or not. Some of the cases that compelled CISD to address special education include intellectual disabilities; developmental disabilities; specific learning disabilities; language and speech impairments; orthopedic, hearing and visual impairments; autism; and traumatic brain injury. Special education developed following the governme nt’s growing need for involvement in education (Wilmshurst & Brue, 2010). Before the 1975 passing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act by the federal government, special education programs had to be improved to include additional services as prescribed by the plans mandated federally. They would therefore be able to benefit from IDEA. To this end, after the Act was passed, Texas established several schools that give special care and attention to students with disabilities to help them grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. In CISD, they have schools that are specially designed and equipped to address the needs of students with learning or physical disabilities. The schools develop students’ talents and skills within caring and safe environments. This is in conformity with the provisions of IDEA that stipulate that each special needs student is given an Individualized Education Program (IEP), outlining how the schools will meet their individual need s (NCD, 1994). CISD further embraces the requirement by IDEA that special needs students must be provided with free, appropriate, public education, which should be conducted in the least restrictive environments. Special education is provided in varying degrees in schools run by the government in CISD. The settings range from the least restric