For my first blog, as I thought it would be interesting to write about something that I have a little bit of familiarity with. I chose the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Back in April, my company (National Amusements movie theaters) sent all of its managers to a presentation from a lawyer who deals entirely with law regarding the ADA, and I learned quite a bit in this session. I thought it would be interesting to share a bit about the ADA with my fellow classmates.

If you go to http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm, you can find a very good overview on what the ADA is exactly and what purpose it serves. Here’s a brief excerpt that gives a good idea of what is going on.

 

“The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications.”

Basically, the ADA is helping to ensure that all people with disabilities are receiving fair treatment in all of the different areas described in the above quote. For example, my seminar that I went to dealt exclusively with employment and commercial facilities aspects of the law, since those are issues that we are constantly confronted as movie theater managers. It was amazing how many things were part of the law that we didn’t even know about. Though I think most of us have a good sense of compassion and right and wrong, sometimes there are things that we don’t consider, and being familiar with the ADA is helpful with this. While I don’t have them on me as I type this, I got some very informative information at that session if anyone would like to see it.

What is quite important for us to note as future educators is the portion of the ADA that deals with education. The following segment is taken from the same link that was listed above:

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (formerly called P.L. 94-142 or the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975) requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual needs.

IDEA requires public school systems to develop appropriate Individualized Education Programs (IEP’s) for each child. The specific special education and related services outlined in each IEP reflect the individualized needs of each student.

IDEA also mandates that particular procedures be followed in the development of the IEP. Each student’s IEP must be developed by a team of knowledgeable persons and must be at least reviewed annually. The team includes the child’s teacher; the parents, subject to certain limited exceptions; the child, if determined appropriate; an agency representative who is qualified to provide or supervise the provision of special education; and other individuals at the parents’ or agency’s discretion.

If parents disagree with the proposed IEP, they can request a due process hearing and a review from the State educational agency if applicable in that state. They also can appeal the State agency’s decision to State or Federal court. For more information, contact:

While I think it is very unfortunate that we need laws to make sure that everyone deserves and has the right to a quality education, it is a good thing that was have the ADA and the IDEA in place. As a future educator, I feel fortunate to have had an extra opportunity to familiarize myself with these things and how they apply to many settings, so that I have a better understanding of how the law works as it pertains to disabilities.