The Education of Special Needs Children in Uganda: Lessons from the American Legal Environment

by Brian Dennison Uganda Christian University, Faculty of Law

Comparative Analysis,
not a blueprint but.....
Deeper Perspective Alternative Solutions Reveals Strengths and Weaknesses

The American Legacy

A Person of unsound mind is, as to all

intellectual purposes, dead; and such a thing, destitute of intellectual light and life. The Supreme Court of Kentucky - 1935

The American Transition

1954 - Brown v. Board of Education The PARC Case and the Mills Case

The IDEA
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
(1975)

Now called the Individuals With Disabilities

Education Act (IDEA)

Key Features of the IDEA

Free and Appropriate Public Education
( FAPE)

Individualized Approach Parental/Stakeholder Involvment Dispute Resolution Mechanisms/

Procedures

Delivery of Special Education Services in the United States

Approximately 500,000 people employed as

special education teachers special education services Education Programmes

Approximately 6 Million children receiving Hundreds of University Level Training adn

Breakdown of Children receiving Special Education Services in the U.S.

1% Orthopedic Services 2% Visual and Hearing Impairment 45% Learning Disabilities 19% Speech or Language Impairment 9% Mental Retardation/ Intellectually Disabled

8% Emotional Disturbance 4% Autism 10% Other Health Impairment

Comparison with Special Needs Education in Uganda and the U.S.

Rights Legislative and Regulatory Framework Human Resources Educational Resources Litigation Mainstreaming/Inclusion

Lessons from the United States

Emphasis on the Individual Collaboration Communication Economics, Compromise and Integrity Mainstreaming Discipline

Emphasis on the Individual

Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Free and Appropriate Education is not
One Size Fits All

Individualized Assessments

Collaboration: Example of the IEP Team

IEP Team: Stakeholders in Action

Parents Regular Education Teacher Special Education Teacher Qualied Representative from the School System

Person qualied to interpret instructional application of evaluation results Individuals with special knowledge invited by parents or school Child with the disability (when appropriate)

Collaboration IEP Team (Cont.)

Purpose is to draft the IEP No Pre-Packed Plans The Goal is Census Should meet at least once a year

Emphasis on Communication
Parents must know their rights Parents must be able to understand the
communication effective

Method of communication should be

Economics, Pragmatism and Integrity

What is a Free and Appropriate Public
Education (FAPE)?

Rowley Standard

The Rowley Standard

The basic oor opportunity provided by
the Act consists of access to specialized instruction and related services which are individually designed to provide educational benet to the handicapped child. This requirement is satised when a school district provides personalized instruction with sufcient support services to permit the child to benet educationally from that instruction.

What is the Rowley Standard?

Reasonably calculated to confer an

educational benet

Some Courts say it is more about access

than the benet received

Benet must be more than minimal Minimal academic advancement is not

sufcient

Cost is factor (Generally)

When is cost not a factor? (Integrity)

Mainstreaming - Economics Not and
Excuse

No Reject - Timothy W. Case

Mainstreaming
Rooted in a Policy against Discrimination Rights/Integrity Continuum of Placements Resources Matter

Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities are not excluded

from the general education system on the basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education or secondary education, on the basis of disability and that effective individualized support measures are provided in environments that maximize academic and social development, consistent with the goal of full inclusion.

Discipline
Manifestation Behavior Intervention Plan Responsibility to Provide Educational

services cannot be extinguished through discipline

Other Lessons
Transition Services Extended School Year Services Related Services

Related Services
transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benet from special education, and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identication and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation, and mobility services and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes

Cautionary Tales
Litigious Culture Damages Relationships Creates Stress Favours the Rich Paper Pressure The Price of Complexity

Big Picture
The Importance of Volunteers in the
Ugandan Context

Education for Special Needs in Uganda is What can legal Advocates in Uganda do?

about Community Involvement and Political Will