Mentally Retarded Case Study

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Various court cases and acts have attempted to ensure equal access to an education for all students, without discriminatory practices, for all students in the United States. One of the important court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954) prohibited segregation in public schools. The Equal Education Opportunities Act (EEOA) 1974 states schools must overcome language barriers that prevent equal participation of them in instructional settings. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on basis of a disability for any federally funded program. The infamous Larry P. Riles case (1979 & 1986) bans the use of standardized IQ tests for African American students for placement in “Educable Mentally Retarded” (EMR) classes.…show more content…
Analyazation of the 2006 racial and ethnic makeup of students ages 6-21 illustrates Yates’ point. In 2006 Caucasian students represented 61.4% of the ethnic make-up of the school population; their participation in various services-Emotionally Disturbed (ED) 57.4%, Specific Learning Disability (SLD) 54,8% and Mentally Retarded (MR) 58.4% does not surpass their representation in the general population. Although African American students account for 14.91% of the ethnic make-up in 2006, 28.9% of them are labeled as ED, 20.5% as SLD and 20.6% as MR. Hispanic students are also overrepresented in the SLD category: overall ethnic make-up 18.51% and 21.2% labeled as SLD (Samuels, 2007). Experts cite multi-faced reasons for the disproportionate amount of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education. The National Research Council (NRC, 2002) contends disproportion has a biological basis. The council blames harmful toxin exposure, low birth weight, limited access to healthcare and poor nutrition as reasons for overrepresentation. However, they also contend school experience as a contributor to the problem. The council states that teachers with less training and less money spent on higher academic programs hinder higher level

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