Paper Example on Special Education Inequality: Hispanic/Latino Perspective

Introduction

As a social worker, I support the passing of the policy recommendations that have been stated in the case of improving the issues of inequality in special education among the Hispanic and Latino students. The disparity affects the life of the special children as they cannot compete fairly in the society. The discrimination case can be traced back to the racial discrimination issues in the education system and the introduction of the enrollment cap. Through the IDEA policy already recommends the abolishment of the enrollment cap and reduction of discrimination in the education system, it has not solved the segregation problems experienced by the Hispanic special children. In the enrollment cap, only 8.5 percent of special children are discriminated. It means that there are more Hispanic children in the society who are unable to get a chance to get the opportunity of being educated, thus hindering discovering the skills and talents they hold. A total of 91.5 % of Hispanic and Latino special children cannot discover what they can perform best, and the overall effect is felt in the society since the special children remain a liability throughout their life.

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Disability is not inability. The special children only require an opportunity in the society, and they can perform excellently and even become dependable people in the future. I thus support the Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA) policy changes that have been suggested to correct the flaws that exist in the system and provide equal opportunities for normal and special children. The government should be encouraged to comply with the IDEA policy by following every clause that promotes the protection of students with a disability (Roberts and Guerra Jr, 2017). The IDEA policy should apply in every school, defining how children with special disability should be treated. However, most schools tend to ignore it and do not admit students with a disability, indicating that the teachers are not trained enough to handle such cases, there is no learning equipment to support the special children. According to the IDEA requirements, all students should be offered equal learning opportunities. When hiring the educators in schools, the government should ensure that some of the teachers are trained and equipped with skills required in taking care of the students with special needs. When the number of students is large, they should not be denied enrollment, but the school should ask for fore teachers from the government.

The enrollment cap should be done away with. If only the needs of 8.5 % students with special needs are addressed, how about the rest students? How will they be able to survive without being given a chance to compete fairly? Will they remain a reliable to the families and society all their life? I believe that every person has a special ability, despite their physical or mental condition. When special students are denied the opportunity to determine where they can perform best, where they can help even in improving the position of the community. It is clear that discrimination is still largely practiced considering that the Hispanic and Latino students are more underrepresented. It can explain the reason why these groups continue to wallow in poverty, and it is a problem which can be solved by empowering the children through education without discrimination. Once the cap has been done away with, the government will be required to help the Hispanic and Latino students (Perez, Skiba and Chung, 2008). The help can be through opening more schools for the special students or hiring teachers who are equipped with the knowledge of handling students with particular needs.

It is clear that lack of representation of the Latino and Hispanic students with special needs is prompted by the existing racial and ethnic discrimination in the education system. Addressing the issue will thus first begin with tackling the inequality issues in the education system. The federal government should come up with rules such as enrolment, treatment and other measures which will ensure that every child is offered equal learning chances, despite their background or skin color. After all the years of fighting racism and its adverse effects, the government should know better, how it affects pull down the entire society (Lipkin and Okamoto, 2015). When one group of people, such as the Latino are poor, the economy of the nation is affected, and crimes rates increase, which threatens the security and order in the country. The negative effects outweigh the positive impacts of equality ad it will thus be in the interest of the government to support the special student's education and ensure that they are provided with equal learning opportunities. When the students with special needs are assisted by the government, it will reduce the burden from the society, thus reducing poverty and crime levels.

Conclusion

To conclude, I support the passing of the IDEA policy recommendations in doing away with discrimination in the education system against the Hispanic and Latino students. Every student has a special ability, and they should be given an opportunity to explore it. With the help of the government, the special students can receive an equal education.

References

Lipkin, P. H., & Okamoto, J. (2015).The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for children with special educational needs.Pediatrics, 136(6), e1650-e1662.

Perez, B., Skiba, R. J., & Chung, C. G. (2008).Latino Students and Disproportionality in Special Education.Education Policy Brief. Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2008. Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University.

Roberts, M. B., & Guerra Jr, F. (2017). Principals' perceptions of needs in Hispanic special education. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 16(1), 43-60.