Education Reforms Proposed in State Legislation: A Report on A Initiative

Education Reforms Proposed in State Legislation: A Report on A Initiative

Braille MonitorApril 1986
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Education Reforms Proposed in State Legislation:
A Report on A Initiative
by James Gashel
Recently I attended a meeting during a
seminar held at the National Center for
the Blind. The subject of education
came up, and someone asked: "How can we
respond when people want suggestions for
improving state laws relating to the
education of the handicapped?" I was
asked to give an answer. So, I did.
A bill now pending before the Maryland
General Assembly may actually spark a
new legislative effort nationwide. The
bill (prepared by the National Federation
of the Blind) seeks important and
needed improvements in Maryland's laws
for the education of all handicapped
children, particularly blind children.
While I have never made an exhaustive
study of other state laws on this subject,
I imagine that the existing Maryland
laws are pretty much what one would
find anywhere in the country. There is
a lot of generality and much discretion
left to the educators. We have found
that this discretion is not being exercised
in the interests of blind children.
So, several changes are proposed.
First, our bill calls for standards to
be established by the state requiring
that all legally blind students of
school age be offered competent instruction
in alternative communications
skills. Braille reading and writing are
the specific alternative skills identified
in the bill. The requirement for
state standards is designed to give each
student the opportunity to learn to
communicate effectively using Braille.
To enact such legislation would be an
historic step forward on behalf of blind
children and for the cause of Braille,
as well.
The second feature of the Maryland
bill is designed to give parents and
blind youngsters themselves a greater
role in determining the specific special
education services that will be provided
to a child and under what conditions.
The federal law (Public Law 94-142, the
"Education For All Handicapped Children
Act") requires significant parent involvement
in the development of the
Individual Education Program (IEP) for
each child. Federal guidelines go even
further by suggesting that the parents
of a child are "equal participants" in
planning for a child along with educational
personnel. But in Maryland we
found that parents were being disregarded
in many instances or their involvement
was limited to a pro forma conference, only meeting a minimum
requirement for involvement. So to
address that problem, the bill proposes
a strengthened role for parents and
their youngsters, where appropriate.
Safeguards, too, are built in which give
the parents the right to be represented
at planning meetings by anyone who might
be of assistance in advocating for the
needs of a child during the development
of a special education program. Other
safeguards include certain notice requirements
and provisions relating to
the maintenance, review, and exclusion
of any information pertaining to a
child's special education program. In
general these features are designed to
carry out the federal mandates which
provide procedural safeguards to parents
and children under Public Law 94-142.
This package of education legislation
proposed to be enacted in Maryland has
certainly captured the attention of many
in the state General Assembly. The
provisions relating to Braille instruction
for blind children are particularly
popular, since reading and writing are
fundamental skills which any educational
program ought to provide. It is a
shocking commentary on existing programs
for the education of blind children to
think that in 1986 the bilnd are forced
to go to the lawmakers to require the
educators to teach Braille. But that's
how it is. Reprinted as part of this
article is the fact sheet we have used
to describe the education legislation
now pending in Maryland and the need for
it to be enacted. It is certainly the
beginning of a good solution to remedy
gross inadequacies that have existed for
years in the education of blind children.
We should now begin to examine
the education laws of other states and
see if a similar initiative is needed.
Then, where we find that it is, we
should act. This is what the National
Federation of the Blind is all about.
Fact Sheet
Education of
Blind and Handicapped Children
in Maryland
BRAILLE INSTRUCTION FOR BLIND CHILDREN
Literacy, the ability to communicate
effectively by reading and writing, is
as important to blind children as it is
to other children. Braille is to blind
persons as print is to sighted persons.
It is the only method of communication
that gives the blind person the same
advantages which print gives the sighted
reader. For example, grammar, punctuation,
and spelling are only learned well
if a blind child can read Braille. It
is not possible for a blind person,
without the knowledge of Braille, to
write or read material needed for quick
reference, such as phone numbers,
manuals, and addresses. Verbal modes of
communication (tapes, disks, talking
machines, or talking computers) can no
more replace Braille than radio or television
can replace print.
Sadly, the problem of increasing illiteracy
among the general student population
has also become a problem among
blind children. The teaching of Braille
has been de-emphasized throughout the
nation, and Maryland is no exception. A
misguided reliance upon technology and a
false belief in the superiority of print
have led to the situation in Maryland
where legally blind children with some
remaining vision have been denied the
opportunity to learn Braille, even when
they can only read print very slowly and
with great difficulty. This has especially
devastating effects for the child
who will lose more vision later in life
when Braille will be more difficult to
learn and the instruction more difficult to obtain. Even totally blind children
have not escaped this damaging de-emphasis
on Braille instruction, often graduating
from school with inferior reading
and writing speed and skill.
The law needs to be changed to highlight
Braille and make it clear that it
is the policy of the state of Maryland
that blind children have the right to an
opportunity to become literate. Parents
and educators must know that Braille is
a viable option and that blind children
have a right to instruction in its use.
By presenting Braille as an option to
all blind children, including the
legally blind child with some remaining
vision, the state of Maryland will be
fulfilling a basic responsibility for
the literacy and education of these
children. It is important that a tone
be set which encourages blind children
to maximize their potential and recognize
Braille as the effective and desirable
reading method that it is.
ADMISSION, REVIEW, AND
DISMISSAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS:

PARENT ATTENDANCE AND RIGHTS;
AND INDIVIDUALIZED
EDUCATION PROGRAMS (IEP'S)
Public Law 94-142 is landmark legislation
which guarantees the right of
handicapped cihldren to a free and appropriate
education. To implement
federal law, the state of Maryland
passed the Special Programs for Exceptional
Children Act. But the provisions
of this law are deficient in many areas.
The proposed legislation seeks to
improve upon our state's implementation
of Federal Requirements. Maryland law
on the education of the handicapped is
very deficient in addressing the Individual
Education Program and and specifically
the parents' role in this process.
The federal law intends for
parents to be equal participants in this
process of planning an educational program
for their handicapped children.
However, because this intent is not
clear in Maryland law, procedures have
developed which place parents in the
lesser roles of observer or advisor.
Parents frequently attend Individualized
Education Program meetings unaware of
who will be present and participating
and ignorant of their right to bring
someone with them. All of these are
rights which they have under federal law
but have not been made available to them
in Maryland. These and other provisions
in this proposal are important aspects
of the parents' right to act as equal
participants in their children's educational
planning.
Members of the National Federation of
the Blind of Maryland urge your support
for this proposal. Children are the
most important resource of our state.
Therefore, the state must make every
effort to make sure that every child in
Maryland receives quality education.
Parent involvement is crucial. As
parents' rights to act as advocates
increase, quality of education available
to blind children will also increase.
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