Germany, Education, Disability, oh my!

1
Germany, Education, Disability, oh my!

• Fabulously presented by
• Glory Auldon
• Ata Moshiri
• Melissa Pico
• Erica Sekins

2
GERMANY

• Capital Berlin
• Official Language German
• Area 137,858 sq mi 
• Population 82,438,000
• Government Federal Republic

3
German Government 101

• Federal republic, where Germanys 16 states
  (Länder) have their own constitution,
  legislatures, and governments and can pass laws
  on all matters (i.e education, local law
  enforcement, culture, and environmental
  protection) except those given exclusively to the
  federal government (i.e defense, foreign affairs,
  and finance).
• Federal Government is Parliamentary democracy
  with a bicameral legislature
• The Bundesrat, the upper house, has 68 seats,
  with each state seating three to six
  representatives depending on the state's
  population the term is not fixed
• The Bundestag, the lower house, is the country's
  main legislative body. It has 603 deputies who
  are elected for four years using a mixed system
  of proportional representation and direct voting.
  
• Executive decision making is the federal
  government, federal chancellor its leader, is
  elected for a four year term by an absolute
  majority of the lower house (Bundestag).

1
4
German Education 101

• The legislative decisions about education come
  primarily from the 16 states (Länder) and only
  minimally from the federal government.
• Kindergarten is optional for pupils between the
  ages of 3-6 yrs.
• After that school attendance is compulsory for
  10-13 years.
• Home schooling is considered illegal and heavy
  fines (up to 15,000) exist.

2,3
5
German Education 102
2
6
German Education 103

• Gymnasium includes the most gifted children and
  prepares students for university studies
• Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for
  intermediary students
• Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational
  education
• Gesamtschule or comprehensive school combines the
  three approaches.
• In order to enter a university, a high school
  student is required to take the Abitur
  examination. Even if a student has a diploma from
  a vocational school they can apply to enter
  university.

2
7
Definitions in Germany

• Disability IV. Disabled people
• 1. Definition
• Section 2 para. 1 SGB IX defines disabled people
  as persons whose physical functions, mental
  capabilities or psychological health are highly
  likely to deviate, for more than six months, from
  the condition which is typical for the respective
  age and whose participation in social life is
  therefore impaired.
• A deviation from the typical condition means the
  loss of or restrictions with regard to physical,
  mental or psychological structures that are
  normally present at the respective age. Such an
  impairing deviation is deemed to be a disability
  if the impairment leads to a particular
  restriction that has an effect on at least one
  area of life. The minimum six-month period
  excludes only temporary abnormalities.

4
8
Definitions in Germany

• Special education II. Special Schools
• If disabled children cannot receive (sufficient)
  assistance in ordinary schools, special schools
  must help them to achieve the educational aims
  that are within their capabilities. If possible,
  the aim is to help the disabled child in
  obtaining a general school-leaving qualification.
  Germany has different special school-types for
  disability in the field of
• - Hearing
• - Language
• - Physical and motor function development
• - Mental development
• - Emotional and social development and
• - General sickness.
• The special schools are obligated to examine, at
  the end of each school year, whether or not
  attendance at the special school is still
  required in the future or whether the child is
  able to learn in an ordinary school.

4
9
Definitions in Germany

• Access
• I. General
• A key area of the Behindertengleichstellungsgeset
  z (as well as supplementary changes to other
  laws) is "access" in all possible ways by
  creating a barrier-free environment. This aims at
  equal participation in community life for
  disabled people by eliminating obstacles to
  mobility in the areas of construction and
  transport as well as in the area of
  communication. It is intended to create an
  obstacle-free, safe environment for the disabled
  to enable them to live without outside help as
  much as possible.
• People with hearing, sight and speech
  disabilities receive communication and mobility
  aids. They also receive concessions for postal
  and telecommunication services (e.g. reduced
  fees, special communication equipment). In
  addition, the administrative agencies as well as
  some private undertakings must comply with the
  barrier-free requirement.

4
10
Definitions in Germany

• Discrimination
• V. Definition of Discrimination
• Section 7 para. 2 BGG states the definition of
  discrimination, as regards the disabled, in the
  following terms Discrimination of disabled
  people takes place if disabled and non-disabled
  people are treated differently without a just
  cause and as an effect of the treatment the
  disabled person's equal participation in social
  life is directly or indirectly impaired.

4
11
History of Special Education

• There has been records of special education for
  at least the last 200 years.
• First to benefit were blind and deaf-mute
  children in school and homes (established though
  private philanthropic initiatives or church
  charities).
• Public-sector schools established when school
  attendance for children with disabilities made
  obligatory. (Happened primarily because when
  education was made compulsory there was children
  who were deemed not able to follow lessons.)

5
12
History of Special Education continued

• Between 1880 and 1920 there was an emergence of
  schools for individuals with sensory impairments
  (alongside institutions for blind and deaf-mute
  individuals)
• There were institutions created for Children
  with limited learning ability (Hilfsschulen)
• After WWII schools for children with learning
  disabilities, behavioral problems and schools for
  the mentally handicapped emerged from the
  Hilfsschulen.

5
13
History of Special Education continued

• Between the 1960s and 1970s activism attempted to
  establish the right of education to all
  handicapped children
• Since the 1980s students with disabilities have
  been increasingly integrated into mainstream
  schools, and greater cooperation and
  communication between the various schools have
  begun to happen.

5
14
Basic Law

• Basic Law (Grundgesetz) is essentially the German
  Federal constitution, and was established in 1949
  after Germany was handed over from allied forces.
  
• The guardian of the Basic Law is the German
  Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsger
  icht). It is both a separate constitutional
  entity and at the same time part of the judiciary
  in the sectors of constitutional law and public
  international law. Its judgments have the legal
  status of ordinary law. It can declare acts and
  decrees of the parliament as null and void if
  they are in violation of the Basic Law.

6
15
Basic Law Article 3

• Article 3 Equality before the law
• (1) All persons shall be equal before the law.
• (2) Men and women shall have equal rights. The
  state shall promote the actual implementation of
  equal rights for women and men and take steps to
  eliminate disadvantages that now exist.
• (3) No person shall be favored or disfavored
  because of sex, parentage, race, language,
  homeland and origin, faith, or religious or
  political opinions. No person shall be disfavored
  because of disability.
• Disability was added in 1994 to the Basic Law.

7, 8
16
KMK

• The KMK is the instrument for co-operation
  between the Land governments in education is the
  Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education
  and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal
  Republic of Germany (KMK).
• The KMK is based on an agreement between the
  Länder and deals with cultural policy matters of
  supra-regional importance, with the aim of
  forming a common viewpoint and a common will as
  well as representing common interests.
  Resolutions of the KMK have the status of
  recommendations.
• It is the political commitment of the competent
  Ministers to transform recommendations into law,
  until they are enacted as binding legislation by
  the parliaments in the 16 Länder.
• Most of the Länder have established educational
  networks around their systems of school, in a
  community, or Länd-wide. The aim is to ensure the
  best benefits for the pupil with Special
  Educational Needs (SEN).  There is a close
  co-operation with social services, therapists,
  institutions for childrens development,
  associations etc..

16
17
KMK continued

• The development and organization of special
  education in the Länder was harmonized by several
  resolutions adopted by the KMK and specifically
  by the Recommendations on the Organisation of
  Special Schools (Empfehlung zur Ordnung des
  Sonderschulwesens, Resolution of March 1972)
• The current special educational recommendations
  are found in Recommendations on Special Needs
  Education in the Schools of the Federal Republic
  of Germany (Empfehlungen zur sonderpädagogischen
  Förderung in den Schulen in der Bundesrepublik
  Deutschland, Resolution of May 1994).

5
18
KMK resolutions

• The recommendations passed by the KMK apply to
  all students with special educational needs
  regardless of whether it takes place at
  mainstream schools or at a sondershule.
• The KMK recommends individual types of special
  education to be developed that focus on
• Sight
• Learning
• Emotional and social development
• Speech
• Mental development
• Hearing
• Physical and motor development
• Instruction for sick pupils
• The KMK has made recommendations on the
  Education and Teaching of Children and Young
  People with Autistic Behavior.
• The KMK mentions More detailed provisions are
  established in the school legislation section of
  the Länder (R69, R71, R73, R75, R77, R80, R82,
  R84,R86, R88, R93, R95, R101, R103-105)
• The KMK recommends on centers to provide support
  staff to special education schools and throughout
  mainstream schools.

5
19
Hamburg Agreement

• October 1971 this agreement between the Länder
  discusses the harmonization in the school
  systems, and outlines the basic school structure
  for the Länder.
• There is a clear distinction between mainstream
  schools and special schools.
• According to the KMK (as of 1972) there are 10
  types of schools
• schools for the blind
• schools for the deaf
• schools for the visually impaired
• schools for the hearing impaired
• schools for the mentally handicapped
• schools for the physically disabled
• schools for the sick
• schools for children with learning difficulties
• schools for children with speech defects
• schools for children with behavioral problems

5
20
Social WelfareCode IX

• The SGB IX is the legal basis of rehabilitation
  in Germany since 2001
• The SGB IX assuring and granting this personal
  right to rehabilitation is the responsibility of
  a broad range of agencies. All individual
  measures to be planned and implemented require
  the cooperation of various professionals,
  facilities, and community-based services like
  rehabilitation hospitals, education services,
  vocational rehabilitation centres, and the
  counseling services of disability or self-help
  organizations.

9
21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
United States of America

• Capital Washington, D.C.
• Official Language None at federal level
• Area 3,718,695 sq mi   
• Population 301,269,000
• Government Federal Constitutional Republic

24
U.S. Relevant Statutes

• Federal Law
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973)
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
  (1975 1997 2004)
• ADA Title II (1990)
• WA State Law Education For All
• Chapter 28A.155 RCW

25
History of IDEA

• Initially titled Education For All Handicapped
  Children Act
• Passed in 1975 in response to several influential
  events
• Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children
  (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1972)
• Federal district court struck down Pennsylvania
  statutes allowing school districts to exclude
  children deemed to be uneducable or
  untrainable
• Mills v. Board of Education
• Federal district court held that the District of
  Columbia had withheld publicly supported
  education from a broad class of exceptional
  children without due process of law
• WA State Education For All legislation

13
26
Purpose Behind the IDEA

• to ensure that all children with disabilities
  have available to them a free and appropriate
  public education FAPE that emphasizes special
  education and related services designed to meet
  their unique needs and prepare them for
  employment and independent living 20 U.S.C.,
  Section 1400(d)(1).

13
27
Four Parts of IDEA

• Part A General provisions of the act, including
  definitions of who is eligible
• Part B Formula grant program requiring each
  state receiving federal financial assistance
  under IDEA to develop a plan to ensure FAPE for
  children with disabilities
• Part C Authorizes states to receive grants from
  the federal government to develop and implement
  statewide systems to provide early intervention
  services for infants and toddlers (ages 0-3
  years)
• Part D Provides for state program improvement
  grants for children with disabilities

13
28
IDEA Definition of Disability

• A child with a disability is one who has
• Mental retardation
• Hearing impairments
• Speech or language impairments
• Visual impairments
• Serious emotional disturbance
• Orthopedic impairments
• Autism
• Traumatic brain injury or
• Other health impairments, or specific learning
  disabilities
• AND, by reason thereof, needs special education
  and related services.

13
29
Regarding Younger Children

• For children ages 3-9, a looser definition of
  disability applies. One must display a
  developmental delay involving
• Physical development
• Cognitive development
• Communication development
• Social or emotional development
• Adaptive development
• AND be in need of special education and related
  services.
• Public policy concern provide helpful services
  as early as possible even if a disability has
  not been positively identified

12
30
Important Caveats to IDEA

• IDEA is NOT and anti-discriminatory statute!
• Qualified children are not entitled to an equal
  education to other children
• To be eligible, children must require special
  education as a result of their disability, not
  just accommodations
• Does NOT apply to post-secondary education
• Applies to kids between the ages of 3 and 21

12
31
Entitlements Under IDEA

• Testing
• Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
  including special education and related
  services consistent with
• An Individualized Education Program (IEP)
• The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
• Procedural Safeguards Against Disciplining

13
32
Testing

• Financially covered by the school district
• Several types, including
• Initial evaluation to determine eligibility
• Reevaluation if initial testing is unsatisfactory
• An independent educational evaluation
• Testing in a particular area
• A functional behavior assessment

13
33
Individualized Education Program (IEP)

• A written plan adapted on an individual basis to
  suit the specific needs of the child and his or
  her family.
• Developed by the family with the assistance of a
  team of professionals assembled by the school
  district.
• Includes the following information
• The childs present educational performance
  levels
• Annual goals
• A statement of the special needs of the child
• A statement discussing the extent the child will
  be educated with non-disabled children
• A timeline of dates services will be provided
• Age 14 and annually thereafter a statement of
  needed transition services to suit post-secondary
  school goals

12
34
The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

• Must be placed in the least restrictive
  environment to the maximum extent appropriate.
• Children are only allowed to be removed from the
  LRE when the nature or severity of the
  disability of the child is such that education in
  regular classes with the use of supplementary
  aids and services cannot be achieved
  satisfactorily.
• LRE is not equivalent to mainstreaming
• Constant balance between what is appropriate and
  what is the least restrictive

12
35
Safeguards to Disciplining

• Disabled children may be punished like any other
  child, just as long as the behavior that is being
  punished is not a manifestation of the
  disability
• Removal from an environment (e.g., suspension) is
  legitimate so long as it does not exceed 10 days
• In such a case, parents are entitled to
• Notification
• A review to be held regarding the behavior and
  evidence to show it is not a manifestation of the
  disability
• The manifestation review must be held immediately
  and no later than 10 school days after the
  decision to take action was made
• Must be conducted by the IEP team
• Parents can appeal the decision

13
36
Board of Education v Rowley, 458 U.S. 176
(1982)Close, But No Cigar!

• Supreme Court held that a school district was not
  required to provide a sign language interpreter
  for Amy Rowley, a deaf student, on the basis that
  she was able to perform better than the average
  student in her classes
• Interestingly, most deaf children qualify for
  sign language interpreters, however it must be
  shown that the student cannot progress
  satisfactorily without one
• Established that appropriate does not mean
  best
• FAPE does not require that school districts
  maximize the potential of disabled students
• Instead, FAPE establishes a basic floor of
  opportunity consisting of access to specialized
  instruction and related services which are
  individually designed to provide educational
  benefit to the handicapped child.

12
37
United Nations

• 192 member states
• Established on October 24, 1945
• Purpose 1) to maintain international peace and
  security 2) to develop friendly relations among
  nations 3) to cooperate in solving international
  problems and in promoting respect for human
  rights 4) and to be a centre for harmonizing the
  actions of nations
• Six main organs General Assembly, Security
  Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship
  Council, Secretariat, and the International Court
  of Justice

38
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Definitions

• Disability-
• Preamble disability is an evolving concept and
  that disability results from the interaction
  between persons with impairments and attitudinal
  and environmental barriers that hinders their
  full and effective participation in society on an
  equal basis with others.
• Article 1 Persons with disabilities include
  those who have long-term physical, mental,
  intellectual or sensory impairments which in
  interaction with various barriers may hinder
  their full and effective participation in society
  on an equal basis with others.

14
39
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Definitions

• Discrimination on the basis of disability In the
  UN Convention this is defined as any
  distinction, exclusion or restriction on the
  basis of disability which has the purpose or
  effect of impairing or nullifying the
  recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal
  basis with others, of all human rights and
  fundamental freedoms in the political, economic,
  social, cultural, civil or any other field. It
  includes all forms of discrimination, including
  denial of reasonable accommodation.

14
40
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Definitions

• Reasonable accommodation The UN Convention
  defines this as necessary and appropriate
  modification and adjustments not imposing a
  disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in
  a particular case, to ensure to persons with
  disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an
  equal basis with others of all human rights and
  fundamental freedoms.

14
41
UN Convention Laws

• Article 7Children with disabilities- best
  interest of child be primary consideration to
  ensure equal treatment with other children
• Article 9Accessibility- ensuring equal access
  and elimination of barriers to physical
  environments, including schools
• Article 19Living independently and being
  included in the community- recognizes the right
  to full inclusion to facilities for the general
  population

14
42
UN Convention Laws

• Article 24Education
• 1. States Parties recognize the right of persons
  with disabilities to education. With a view to
  realizing this right without discrimination and
  on the basis of equal opportunity, States Parties
  shall ensure an inclusive education system at all
  levels and life long learning directed to
• (a) The full development of human potential and
  sense of dignity and self-worth, and the
  strengthening of respect for human rights,
  fundamental freedoms and human diversity (b)
  The development by persons with disabilities of
  their personality, talents and creativity, as
  well as their mental and physical abilities, to
  their fullest potential

14
43
UN Convention Laws

• Article 24Education
• 2. In realizing this right, States Parties shall
  ensure that
• (a) 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 from secondary education, on the
  basis of disability(b) Persons with
  disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and
  free primary education and secondary education on
  an equal basis with others in the communities in
  which they live(c) Reasonable accommodation of
  the individuals requirements is provided
• (d) Persons with disabilities receive the support
  required, within the general education system, to
  facilitate their effective education
• (e) Effective individualized support measures are
  provided in environments that maximize academic
  and social development, consistent with the goal
  of full inclusion.

14
44
UN Standard Rules Definitions

• Disability summarizes a great number of
  different functional limitations occurring in any
  population in any country of the world. People
  may be disabled by physical, intellectual or
  sensory impairment, medical conditions or mental
  illness. Such impairments, conditions or
  illnesses may be permanent or transitory in
  nature.

15
45
UN Standard Rules Definitions

• Prevention means action aimed at preventing the
  occurrence of physical, intellectual, psychiatric
  or sensory impairments (primary prevention) or at
  preventing impairments from causing a permanent
  functional limitation or disability (secondary
  prevention). Prevention may include many
  different types of action, such as primary health
  care, prenatal and postnatal care, education in
  nutrition, immunization campaigns against
  communicable diseases, measures to control
  endemic diseases, safety regulations, programmes
  for the prevention of accidents in different
  environments, including adaptation of workplaces
  to prevent occupational disabilities and
  diseases, and prevention of disability resulting
  from pollution of the environment or armed
  conflict.

15
46
UN Standard Rules Definitions

• Rehabilitation refers to a process aimed at
  enabling persons with disabilities to reach and
  maintain their optimal physical, sensory,
  intellectual, psychiatric and/or social
  functional levels, thus providing them with the
  tools to change their lives towards a higher
  level of independence. Rehabilitation may include
  measures to provide and/or restore functions, or
  compensate for the loss or absence of a function
  or for a functional limitation. The
  rehabilitation process does not involve initial
  medical care. It includes a wide range of
  measures and activities from more basic and
  general rehabilitation to goal-oriented
  activities, for instance vocational
  rehabilitation.

15
47
UN Standard Rules Definitions

• Equalization of opportunities means the process
  through which the various systems of society and
  the environment, such as services, activities,
  information and documentation, are made available
  to all, particularly to persons with
  disabilities.

15
48
UN Standard Rules Laws

• Rule 5. Accessibility
• States should recognize the overall importance
  of accessibility in the process of the
  equalization of opportunities in all spheres of
  society. For persons with disabilities of any
  kind, States should introduce programmes of
  action to make the physical environment
  accessible
• Access to the physical environment
• States should initiate measures to remove the
  obstacles to participation in the physical
  environment. Such measures should be to develop
  standards and guidelines and to consider enacting
  legislation to ensure accessibility to various
  areas in society, such as housing, buildings,
  public transport services and other means of
  transportation, streets and other outdoor
  environments.
• Accessibility requirements should be included in
  the design and construction of the physical
  environment from the beginning of the designing
  process.
• Access to information and communication
• Persons with disabilitiesshould have access to
  full information on diagnosis, rights and
  available services and programmes, at all stages.
  Such information should be presented in forms
  accessible to persons with disabilities.

15
49
UN Standard Rules Laws

• Rule 6. Education
• States should recognize the principle of equal
  primary, secondary and tertiary educational
  opportunities for children, youth and adults with
  disabilities, in integrated settings. They should
  ensure that the education of persons with
  disabilities is an integral part of the
  educational system.
• In States where education is compulsory it should
  be provided to girls and boys with all kinds and
  all levels of disabilities, including the most
  severe.
• In situations where the general school system
  does not yet adequately meet the needs of all
  persons with disabilities, special education may
  be considered. It should be aimed at preparing
  students for education in the general school
  system. The quality of such education should
  reflect the same standards and ambitions as
  general education and should be closely linked to
  it.

15
50
Connections

• Parental activism
• Segregation vs integration
• Separate but equal
• Under funding

51
References

• 1. http//www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0858400.ht
  ml
• 2. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Germa
  ny
• 3. http//www.cbn.com/CBNnews/57633.aspx
• 4. http//www.germanlawjournal.com/article.php?id
  515
• 5. http//www.kmk.org/dossier/special.pdf
• 6. http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_Law_for_the_
  Federal_ Republic_of_Germany
• 7. http//www.iuscomp.org/gla/statutes/GG.htm3
• 8. http//www.european-agency.org/nat_ovs/germany/
  1.html
• 9. http//www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/sk
  ills/hrdr/rec_ n/re_10b_ger.htm
• 10. http//apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite2
  8A.155.010

52
References Continued

• 11. http//www.wrightslaw.com/idea/art/iep.roadmap
  .htm
• 12. Colker, R. Everyday Law for Individuals with
  Disabilities. Paradigm Publishers. Boulder. 2006.
• 13. Bergeson, T. et al. Special Education and the
  Law A Legal Guide for Families and Educators.
  February 1998.
• 14. http//www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/rights/con
  vtexte. htmconvtext
• 15. http//www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/dissre00.h
  tm
• 16. http//www.european-agency.org/nat_ovs/germany
  /4.html