Education
We are committed to making sure students with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
FAPE is shorthand for the free appropriate public education that every child eligible for special education is entitled to receive.
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 92-142) was enacted in 1975. In 1990, it was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The name change reflects the evolution of how society has come to view students with disabilities as individuals first, instead of as being defined entirely by their disability. The IDEA was revised in 1997, and most recently in 2004, and is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), though it is still commonly referred to as IDEA or IDEA 2004.
Our Special Education: A Guide for Parents & Advocates (Fifth Edition) provides parents and advocates with accurate information and answers to questions about special eduction for children enrolled in Oregon's public schools from Kindergarten to 21 years of age.
For a PDF version of Special Education: A Guide for Parents & Advocates (Fifth Edition) in English, click here.
For a PDF version of Special Education: A Guide for Parents & Advocates (Fifth Edition) in Spanish, click here.
- Special Education: A Guide for Parents & Advocates - English
- Restraint & Seclusion: When Behavior Interferes with Learning - English
- Restricción y Reclusión de Niños en Educación Especial - Español
- Educación Especial: Una Guía para Padres y Defensores - Español
- Education Links & Publications
- Hate Crimes and Bullying
- DRO is working on bills at both the federal and state level to protect individuals with disabilities from abuse in schools and the community.
- 5th-Grade Special Education Student Tasered by Police in His Oregon Class Room
- An Investigation of Systemic Failure | Written by Joel Greenberg, DRO Staff Attorney
- Issues Large and Small
- A bill about special education hearing procedures provides a forum for legislators to debate the merits of public education and trial lawyers.
- A Boy & His (Trained) Dog
- Disability Rights Oregon Staff Attorney Joel Greenberg explains why an 8-year old student with autism isn't allowed to bring his assistance dog to school, and how persistent advocacy convinced the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights to investigate.
- Regulating Seclusion & Restraint of Students
- Why Oregon needs to keep its schools healthy, safe and inclusive.
- Support Eliza Schaaf
- Send a letter to Southern Oregon University and be part of a movement for peace and justice.
- Parents: DRO Wants Your Input on Summer Programs for Special Education Students
- Have you had a good or bad experience with a summer program serving your special education child?
- Cuestionario sobre Restriccion y Reclusion
- Usted puede ayudar en nuestra Campaña Mantener la Escuela Segura para Todos.
- Restraint & Seclusion Questionnaire
- You can help our Keep School Safe for Everyone Campaign.
- State Releases 2008-09 Special Education Child Count
- (03-11-2009): Oregon Dept of Education Releases 2008-09 Special Education Child Count
- "Welcome to the Real World of Special Education"
- Guest Blogger Michael T. Bailey's thoughts on the closing of Oregon School for the Blind
- Will closing Oregon's school for the blind help students fulfill their potential, or create an archipelago of neglect?
- DRO's Executive Director Bob Joondeph reflects on guest blogger Michael Bailey's "Welcome to the Real World of Special Education"
- US Supreme Court Rules For Parents
- Quotes from the Special Education case of Forest Grove School District v. T.A.
- Seclusion & Restraint Abuse in Schools
- A U.S. House of Representatives committee hears a report from the GAO and testimony of parents regarding the tragic misuse of seclusion and restrain in schools.
- House Votes to Close Oregon School for Blind
- Sitting in the gallery of the Oregon House chamber, listening to the debate over whether to close the OSB.
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