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NCAC: Research & Solutions: Policy

Policy

General and special education policies clearly influence practice within our schools. The National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum is interested in determining the impact of existing policies on access to, participation in, and progress within the general education curriculum.

Read more about policies and the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum:

• Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities: The Role of the IEP
• Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities: A Discussion of the Interrelationship between IDEA '97 and NCLB
• Post IDEA ’97 Case Law and Administrative Decisions: Access to the General Curriculum
• Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities: A Brief Legal Interpretation
• Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Disabilities: A Brief for Parents and Teachers
• NCAC Policy Group White Paper for Policy, Property & Permissions: A Discussion of Accessible Curriculum Materials on Ordering, Producing, and Obtaining Accessible Versions of Curriculum Materials for K-12 Students with Print Disabilities
• 50 State Accessible Curriculum Policy Survey
• Overview of State Studies
• A Discussion of Accessible Curriculum Materials at Harvard’s Berkman Center
• Schools Without Rules? Charter Schools, Federal Disability Law, and the Paradoxes of Deregulation
• Reforming School Reform
• High-Stakes Testing of Students
• State Policy Study
• Assessment Policies
• Digitization of Textbooks

This paper discusses the educational literature pertaining to IEPs in relation to access to the general curriculum and presents a framework to be used in evaluating the extent to which IEPs reflect access to the general curriculum. The literature pertaining to IEPs in general is vast, and only those articles pertaining to access to the general curriculum are included. Part One provides a literature review of relevant articles that predated the inclusion of the access to the general curriculum requirements in IDEA '97. Part Two outlines the specific requirements in IDEA '97 that pertain to IEPs and access to the general curriculum. Part Three summarizes recent articles that have appeared in the aftermath of IDEA '97. Finally, Part Four presents a framework to analyze the extent to which the IEPs of students with disabilities reflect access to the general curriculum.

View the paper.

This paper analyzes the concept of access to the general curriculum as mandated by IDEA '97 and further impacted by NCLB. Through a discussion of the interrelationship between the two statutes, this paper addresses the following question: What are the legal provisions in IDEA '97 and NCLB associated with access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities, and how do these provisions translate into educational obligations for States and school districts? By clarifying the interrelationship between the two statutes and highlighting the legal and educational obligations incumbent upon States and local school districts, this paper leads to a more comprehensive understanding of the meaning of access to the general curriculum.

View the paper.

This paper analyzes case law and administrative proceedings following the 1997 reauthorization of IDEA in order to ascertain how the statutory requirements associated with access, involvement and progress have been interpreted by courts and hearing officers. Section 1 provides a brief background of case law prior to IDEA ’97, interpreting the important concepts of FAPE and LRE. Section 2 presents a discussion of proceedings relating to the right to have access to the general curriculum. Section 3 discusses interpretation of claims pertaining to involvement in the general curriculum that have been brought under FAPE and LRE. Finally, Section 4 focuses on interpretation of progress in the general curriculum as it relates to the participation of students with disabilities in Statewide assessments.

View the paper.

The 1997 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) introduced important changes in the education of students with disabilities. One of the most significant changes concerns the provision of access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities.

This brief presents an analysis of the legal requirements in IDEA '97 associated with the concept of access to the general curriculum. Specifically, the 1997 Amendments require that students with disabilities: (1) have access to the general curriculum; (2) be involved in the general curriculum; and (3) progress in the general curriculum. These requirements have the potential to lead to improved educational outcomes for students with disabilities.

View the brief.

This brief is designed to help parents and teachers understand the requirements in IDEA '97 associated with the concept of access to the general curriculum. According to IDEA '97, students with disabilities must have access to, be involved in, and progress in the general curriculum. These requirements have the potential to lead to improved educational outcomes for students with disabilities.

View the brief.

This meeting, held at CAST on May 2, 2003, specifically focused on the delivery of accessible materials in different states. It was organized and moderated by the NCAC policy team. Participants included a small group of invited guests who are actively involved in the ordering or production of accessible materials in five diverse states (California, Kentucky, Texas, Massachusetts and New York), the NCAC Policy team. The meeting was also attended by the NCAC's Project Officer (a federal DOE/OSEP representative), representatives from RFB&D (a major producer of digitally recorded textbooks) and representatives of CAST.

Review the report of the May 2nd meeting.

A Concise Summary of State Laws Pertaining to the Provision of Accessible Materials for K-12 Students with Print Disabilities Prepared by Erica S. Perl, Esq. and Deborah Gordon

Select the state of interest to you from the Summary Table.

From 2000 to 2002, the NCAC Policy Group compiled data concerning national trends and current issues affecting students’ ability to access the general curriculum. A summary report, "Overview of State Studies" by Erica Perl, is presented here.

On October 17 & 18, 2002, Harvard Law School welcomed participants to this two-day roundtable meeting. The event was developed and sponsored by the Berkman Center for the Internet and Society at Harvard Law School, the Harvard Children's Initiative, the National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum at CAST, and the Association of American Publishers.

Source Documents for "Policy, Property and Permissions: A Discussion of Accessible Curriculum Materials"

This article, for educators, lawyers, advocates, and parents, examines the legal duty of charter schools to serve students with disabilities. It concludes that:

• Charter schools are subject to the IDEA and all other federal laws affecting students with disabilities, and that
• Autonomous charter schools may actually have more extensive legal obligations than traditional public schools. Paradoxically, efforts to free charter schools from state and local regulation may actually serve to increase charter schools’ obligations under federal law.

To read Jay Heubert's article and for policy maker and practioner recommendations go to: Schools Without Rules? Charter Schools, Federal Disability Law, and the Paradoxes of Deregulation

Education reform has become a primary domestic policy priority for U.S. politicians and voters. New reforms emphasize competition and standards, choice and incentives, in contrast to the law-driven equality movement of the last wave of reforms which generated cumbersome bureaucracies and sometimes counterproductive court orders, but also provided fundamental values and protections. Reforming reform involves learning to build constructively on the past while putting in place the capacity to learn from new initiatives.

This article:

• Explores the limitations of both the choice and equality reforms;
• Identifies potential common ground and synergies of present and past school improvement struggles;
• Suggests ways that legislators and other public bodies can craft choice reforms that sustain the commitments to both equality and quality.

Find Martha Minow's article at Reforming School Reform.

This new article on the standards movement and high stakes testing provides current information about:

• State graduation-test and promotion-test programs and their application to students with disabilities;
• Pass-rate data for students with disabilities on graduation and promotion tests;
• Evidence on whether students (and especially students with disabilities) are getting adequate opportunities to acquire the kinds of knowledge and skill that high-stakes tests measure;
• Elements of a sound high-stakes testing policy.

To read the latest article written by Jay P. Heubert, NCAC's co-director on Policy, go to Disability, Race, and High-Stakes Testing of Students.

State laws and policies from 15 states are the focus of the first phase of this work. The first state report is now in draft form and is under review on the NCAC Partner Web site.

To read an interpretation by Martha Minow, Professor at Harvard Law School, of the results of an initial study of 8 states' efforts to implement IDEA, go to:
Update on Implementation of IDEA: Early Returns from State Studies

Hot Issues

• Funding

  Growing concern exists that state funding structures linked to disability type or instructional setting lead to over-identification of students for special education or unnecessarily restrictive placements.

  For more about how some states are revising their fiscal policies read:
  Funding Mechanisms in Special Education

• English Language Learners

  English language learners continue to be disproportionately identified for special education, raising questions of whether these students are receiving an appropriate public education as required by federal law.

  To learn more, including the inextricable connection to issues of race, read:
  Limited English Proficient Students and Special Education

• Teacher Training

  Teacher training is one of the most promising opportunities for increasing the access of students with disabilities to the general curriculum.

  To read about available resources, the use of a team approach to teaching, as well as how to increase teacher awareness of the legal requirements, go to:
  Teacher Training: Recommendations for Change

Positive Practices

• Related Services

  "Related services" under the IDEA, notably counseling services, are often not provided when school districts and other local agencies disagree over who should provide and pay for them.

  Learn about how one state is attempting to improve the delivery of such services at
  Related Services: Minnesota's System of Interagency Coordination

About IDEA

• For an overview of the special education process under the IDEA see A Guide to the Individualized Education Program.

• Go to a brief set of frequently asked questions and answers -- provided for people interested in having a broad understanding of some of the changes in IDEA'97.

For an insightful paper by Jay P. Heubert, J.D., Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University, Columbia Law School, regarding the standards movement and critical assessment issues, please read:

"Graduation and Promotion Testing: Potential Benefits and Risks for Minority Students, English-Language Learners, and Students with Disabilities"

and/or the full version of the paper at:

"High-Stakes Testing: Opportunities and Risks for Students of Color, English-Language Learners, and Students with Disabilities"

By converting text to a more accessible digital form, technology can now help to provide access to the general curriculum for all students. A critical role for CAST - and other organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities - is to digitize and facilitate access to textbooks and other teaching materials within the provisions of the 1996 exception in the Copyright Act.

To learn more about digitization of textbooks read: The Role of CAST and Other Organizations Serving Individuals with Disabilities.