Enacted in 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act – now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provides all children with the right to a free and appropriate public education. On the face of it, the IDEA is a shining example of law’s democratizing impulse. But is that really the case? In Disabled Education, Ruth Colker digs deep beneath the IDEA’s surface and reveals that the IDEA contains flaws that were evident at the time of its enactment that limit its effectiveness for poor and minority children. Both an expert in disability law and the mother of a child with a hearing impairment, Colker learned first-hand of the Act’s limitations when she embarked on a legal battle to persuade her son’s school to accommodate his impairment. Colker was able to devote the considerable resources of a middle-class lawyer to her struggle and ultimately won, but she knew that the IDEA would not have benefitted her son without her time-consuming and costly legal intervention. Her experience led her to investigate other cases, which confirmed her suspicions that the IDEA best serves those with the resources to advocate strongly for their children. The IDEA also works only as well as the rest of the system does: struggling schools that serve primarily poor students of color rarely have the funds to provide appropriate special education and related services to their students with disabilities. Through a close examination of the historical evolution of the IDEA, the actual experiences of children who fought for their education in court, and social science literature on the meaning of “learning disability,” Colker reveals the IDEA’s shortcomings, but also suggests ways in which resources might be allocated more evenly along class lines.

Create campuses inclusive and supportive of disabled students, staff, and faculty Disability in Higher Education: A Social Justice Approach examines how disability is conceptualized in higher education and ways in which students, faculty, and staff with disabilities are viewed and served on college campuses. Drawing on multiple theoretical frameworks, research, and experience creating inclusive campuses, this text offers a new framework for understanding disability using a social justice lens. Many institutions focus solely on legal access and accommodation, enabling a system of exclusion and oppression. However, using principles of universal design, social justice, and other inclusive practices, campus environments can be transformed into more inclusive and equitable settings for all constituents. The authors consider the experiences of students, faculty, and staff with disabilities and offer strategies for addressing ableism within a variety of settings, including classrooms, residence halls, admissions and orientation, student organizations, career development, and counseling. They also expand traditional student affairs understandings of disability issues by including chapters on technology, law, theory, and disability services. Using social justice principles, the discussion spans the entire college experience of individuals with disabilities, and avoids any single-issue focus such as physical accessibility or classroom accommodations. The book will help readers: Consider issues in addition to access and accommodation Use principles of universal design to benefit students and employees in academic, cocurricular, and employment settings Understand how disability interacts with multiple aspects of identity and experience. Despite their best intentions, college personnel frequently approach disability from the singular perspective of access to the exclusion of other important issues. This book provides strategies for addressing ableism in the assumptions, policies and practices, organizational structures, attitudes, and physical structures of higher education.

Introduction to the core concepts of teaching and supporting children with disabilities alongside their peers will help teachers ensure that all children meet their potential.

With several empirical evidences, this book advocates on the importance of human capital of persons with disabilities and demands the paradigm shift from charity into investment approach. Society in general believes that people with disabilities cannot benefit from education, cannot participate in the labour market and cannot be contributing members to families and countries. To invalidate such assumptions, this book describes how education in particular helps make persons with disabilities achieve economic independence and social inclusion. For the first time, detailed analyses of returns to the investment in education and nexus between disability, education, employability and occupational options are discussed. Moreover, other chapters describe disability and poverty followed by the discussion of barriers behind why persons with disabilities are unable to obtain education despite the significantly higher returns. These foundational themes recur throughout the book.

Places notions of disability at the center of higher education and argues that inclusiveness allows for a better education for everyone

"Carolyn is in a wheelchair, but she doesn't let that stop her! She can do almost everything the other kids can, even if sometimes she has to do it a little differently"--

Explores the contested boundaries between disability, illness, and mental illness in higher education