CREATED TO RAISE AWARENESS, CELEBRATE ACHIEVEMENTS
AND TAKE ACTION FOR EQUALITY OF PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES







IN SCHOOL

There were always people who believed that people who are disabled can learn, and they made efforts to improve the situation. In 1918 in New York, Council for Exceptional Children was founded. This is an organization that began working to make sure that children with disabilities have a chance of education. However, it took a long time for other people to realize that students with disabilities can learn and be successful individuals, and give them a chance for education.

In the United States of America today there are laws that protect students with disabilities and their right to be educated. US Department of Education has a statistic that almost 200,000 students in the United States  have physical disabilities. They are protected by the law that is called IDEA. IDEA means Individual with Disabilities Education Act and it became law in 1975. This was a very important law for all students with disabilities, because it said that all students with disabilities have a right to good education with their peers whenever possible.  This law is not perfect, but it's a step in right direction.


However, education for students with disabilities is different in different places in the world. According to the US Network for Education Information, there are  more than 190 educational systems around the world. These systems are run by different countries that have different laws and views on disabilities. Therefore, education for students with physical disabilities is not the same around the world. National Education Association believes that more than 100,000 children in the world do not go to school  for different reasons. Many of them may be disabled.  While situation is not great, people are making improvements . In 2002, the World Education Foundation for the Disabled was created in Switzerland.  The goal of the WEFD  is to improve education for children with disabilities so that they can live independent, productive lives.
CREDITS:

"Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004." ED.gov. IDEA. 21 Feb 2008<http://idea.ed.gov/>.

"Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 15 feb 2008
"http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy-and-legalresources/discrimination/school/idea.jsp

"Access to education around the world." NEA. 23 Feb 2007. <http://www.nea.org/international/worldaccess.html

"Welcome To World Education Foundation For The Disabled ." Welcome To World Education Foundation For The Disabled. 12 Nov 2007.<http://www.worlddisabled.org/>.