Mã số: TT/P.

KT&KĐCL/11/BM05V
Họ & tên SV: Nguyễn Phan Thảo Nguyên Phòng thi số
Ban hành lần: 01
STT: ................................. ..................................
Hiệu lực: 07/01/2019

Khoa: Ngoại ngữ Kỳ thi: Cuối kỳ- HK II/ 2022-2023 GT 1 GT 2 Mã số SV Số phách

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THÍ SINH ĐIỀN ĐẦY ĐỦ CÁC MỤC Ở PHẦN TRÊN

CÁN BỘ CHÁM THI 1 CÁN BỘ CHẤM THI 2 ĐIỂM BÀI THI Số phách
Ghi bằng số Ghi bằng chữ

Môn thi: Văn hóa Mỹ - Mã môn: 001175

Theme: Education

Topic: IDEA - Key to A Better Future for Special Children

IDEA - Key to A Better Future for Special Children

“Education is the key to opportunity in our society, and the equality of educational opportunity must
be the birthright of every citizen.” said by the 36th President of the United States - Lyndon B. Johnson in the
Statement by the President Announcing the Calling of a White House Conference on Education on June 1,
1965. The statement above emphasizes the significance of equality in education for all civilizations, especially
for a country like the United States where equality holds an important role as one of the three fundamental
principles of the Constitution. However, it has always been challenging for individuals with disabilities—who
are sometimes stigmatized—to participate in a proper educational environment because of their physical and
mental impairments. Therefore, The IDEA, or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, was created to
provide opportunities for children with disabilities to receive a professional education as their healthy
classmates. This essay will focus on the influence of the IDEA on the U.S. educational system.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that provides accessible and free
public education along with special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities. In
1975 Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), after that, in a 1990
reauthorization, this law’s name was changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The
IDEA aims at providing children who have impairments the same educational opportunities as students
without disabilities. It includes four parts, and the most crucial ones are Part A and Part B. The right of a
child with a disability to an education that prepares for his or her adult life is expressed in Part A by a
statement of Congress: “Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the
right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with
disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation,
independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities”. Part B offers educational

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assistance for all children with disabilities. Part C focuses on infants and toddlers with disabilities, including
children from birth to age three, while Part D is for federally managed national assistance programs.

Since its inception, the IDEA has created great impacts on the U.S. educational system. It
revolutionized the foundation of special education for children like no other statute before or since. During
the time before the enactment of the IDEA, children with disabilities were isolated in state institutions
without guarantee of proper assessments or education, which meant there were over a million kids denied
participation in public schools. However, the IDEA has brought opportunities that used to be impossible to
accomplish to many children with disabilities. The IDEA has enhanced its expectations for children with
disabilities over the last more than 40 years. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) website in 2020-2021, more than 66% of children with disabilities are
spending 80% or more of their school days in general education classrooms (IDEA part B), and more than
363,000 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families has been receiving early intervention services
(IDEA part C). Thanks to the efforts of the IDEA, children with disabilities are provided an equal opportunity
to acquire education and development, therefore overcoming obstacles such as cognitive impairment, mental
and/or physical disabilities. Without the enactment of the IDEA, these children may end up being abandoned
at home and turn out to be a burden on their families and society.

For more than forty years, the IDEA has completely changed the life stories of some people with
disabilities, giving them a better life. In "Achieved: 25 years History of the IDEA," there is a story about
Allan, who was found on the steps of an institution for persons with mental retardation. Allan was completely
blind when he was 35; however, after he was assessed properly the result surprised the examiners as it
revealed that not only did Allan have an average level of intelligence, but also that his blindness was caused
by self-harming behaviors he had learned from the behaviors of other residents in the institution. As a result,
the institution began teaching him skills through a special program to become more independent. Another
story comes from Alex Kreilein. He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which
caused him unable to keep up with the lessons and was ostracized. Fortunately, the IDEA provided Alex
Kreilein’s school with the funding and capability to meet his and other children's special educational needs.
Thanks to the support of the IDEA, he managed to be a successful person with two master's degrees and co-
founded his own company now. The IDEA has made significant progress toward assisting disabled children to
have positive lives and be able to contribute to society. This is a highly humane law because children with
disabilities are individuals with great potential who need particular assistance in order to succeed.

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Despite the fact that the IDEA has worked well since it was enacted, it is unavoidable that this law still
has some downsides. The IDEA has not yet adequately supported Black students, students of color, and
students from low-income, less-resourced communities. These students classified as having disabilities would
be segregated into special education classes, but those classes provide subpar educational curriculum which
can lead to higher rates of dropout in under-resourced school districts. Moreover, many low-income parents
may not have sufficient understanding of the IDEA and their child's legal rights, so their child may not be
treated equally as other children. These parents have difficulty “feeling confident about making due process
claims,” and may not be able to afford legal assistance to protect their child’s interests. The IDEA was
created to form an equal educational system for both students with disadvantages and normal ones, so the
existence of racism and classism are the failures that go against the original purpose of the law and need to
be reformed. The government should offer some solutions such as every district school having an office
under the IDEA to monitor the quality of students with disabilities curriculum which is funded by the IDEA.
Furthermore, it is essential that legal advocates, such as attorneys, will be provided to assist the family in
legal proceedings regarding the IDEA.

In conclusion, since its implementation in 1975, the IDEA has had a significant impact on the U.S.
educational system, providing students with disabilities equal access to education and opportunities to pursue
their academic goals as well as personal development, unlocking the door to a more promising future for
those who struggle with disabilities by offering them the opportunity to live, work, and contribute to society.
It is undeniable that the IDEA still has certain limitations that need to be improved. However, we can be
confident that in the future, the IDEA will take further steps to develop and bring more appropriate benefits
to students with disabilities. Furthermore, this act will also become a model for other countries to follow to
enhance their educational systems. As a result, all children with disabilities in the world will receive an
appropriate education.

Word count: 1198

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References

About IDEA. (n.d.). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/

Davis, L. (2021, February 18). How the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act fails minority students.

Michigan Journal of Race & Law. https://mjrl.org/2021/02/18/how-the-individuals-with-disabilities-

education-act-fails-minority-students/

Kreilein, A. (2017, February 8). How the IDEA act changed my life. Medium.

https://alexkreilein.medium.com/how-the-idea-act-changed-my-life-b407a3f7a902

Mauro, T. (2022, June 8). How does the IDEA protect disabled children? Verywell Family.

https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-idea-

3106870#:~:text=Under%20the%20IDEA%2C%20all%20children,provide%20or%20can%20deny%

20services

Peterson, M. (n.d.). IDEA's impact - Theory to practice. Lehigh Graduate College of Education.

https://ed.lehigh.edu/theory-to-practice/2016/IDEAs-impact

Sprayberry, T. (2015, March 1). The impact of I.D.E.A. for students with disabilities and education equality:

40 years later. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/idea-for-students-with-

disabilities_b_6312830

Statement by the president announcing the calling of a White House conference on education. (n.d.). The

American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-president-

announcing-the-calling-white-house-conference-education