Thursday 13 April 2017

The American Legal System

This book deals with minors, and their rights and the law. Doland, Edward F. Jr. , Protect Your Legal Rights: Simon & Schuster Inc. , New York, 1983. This is a handbook for teenagers and adults. Fincher, E. B. , The American Legal System: Franklin Watts, New York, 1980. This work describes the legal system and related the experience of two teenagers in trouble with the law, one of whom is tried as a teenager. Fryar, Maridell, Thomas, David A. , and Goodnight, Lynn. Basic Debate, Illinois: National Textbook Co. , 1966.



A basic textbook for beginning level debate students in which the skills of analysis, research, and reasoning are carefully examined. Friedman, Lawrence. 1993. Crime and Punishment in American History. Basic Books. A comprehensive historical survey of criminal justice in America by one of the nation’s most influential legal historians. Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 108 S. CT. 562, 98 L. ED. 2nd. 592 (1988). Recent Supreme Court decision upholding the rights of school officials to censor school newspapers.

Decision which gave teenagers many procedural protections previously denied. The lack of any formal national education policy has resulted in an education system that varies greatly from state to state. IDEA is one of the few federal laws that supercedes state laws pertaining to education. The other notable exception to state control over education policy is No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the federal education law that was enacted in 2001. Both of these laws represent an increase in federal control over education policy and a decrease in state and local autonomy in education.

In addition to IDEA, special education in the United States also subject to the provisions of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. While IDEA is based on the philosophy that all children are entitled to FAPE regardless of their disabilities, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (hereafter referred to only as "Section 504") was broader in scope and was written to prevent discrimination against all people who have disabilities, not just students. NCLB applies to all schools and effects all students regardless of their disability and also has significant implications for Special Education.

IDEA defines a "child with a disability" as: "A child with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services" (U. S. Congress, 2004, Sec. 602 [3][a][i]). Under IDEA, children who have a physical disability, learning disability, cognitive impairment, or certain other conditions are entitled to FAPE.

IDEA requires schools to develop an individual education program (IEP) for each student enrolled in special education which addresses the child's specific educational needs and outlines how those needs will be met. IDEA also includes procedural safeguards that are designed to ensure that parents have a role in planning the child's educational program, to offer a range of a continuum of educational services, to educate the child in the least restrictive environment, to treat the delivery of an appropriate education as an enforceable right, and to provide clear procedures for parents to resolve disputes with school districts.

Although IDEA addresses the needs of most students who have a disability, it does not include all students who have difficulties in the classroom. For example, students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not automatically qualify for special education services under IDEA unless they have some other condition (such as a learning disability or cognitive impairment) that is included in the list of impairments covered by IDEA (Smith, 2001). Section 504 states that "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability...

shall solely by reason of her or his disability... be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance" (Section 504, cited by Smith, 2001, p. 337). Some of the more visible results of Section 504 are handicapped accessible restrooms, ramps instead of stairs, and other accommodations for disabilities. Although Section 504 was designed primarily to eliminate discrimination in the workplace, it has also been used to gain accommodations for students in the public school setting.

Source: law aspect

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