FOCUS ON EDUCATION The miracle of the Special Education Program in PSS Part I of II

One of the unsung deeds that the Public School System performs daily is the Special Education Program for disabled children. It is one of the most important services to a group of children who would otherwise never have a decent chance in life. Because it is so important and because not many of us really understand the scope, I will devote two articles to explain how vital this program is to the community. From my discussion, I hope that all of us will realize that the PSS is more than just schools marching students through halls. It is our community in action.

It started when the United States Congress realized back in 1975 that disability is a natural part of human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate 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.” As a result of this belief, the United States Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142).

This act of recognizing a special group of our society as equal members was truly a monumental act of compassion and loving for less fortunate children. You see before the enactment of this act, the special educational needs of children with disabilities were not being fully met.

More than one-half of the children with disabilities in the United States did not receive appropriate educational services that would enable such children to have full equality of opportunity. More than 1,000,000 of the children with disabilities were excluded entirely from the public school system and did not go through the educational process with their peers. The few handicapped children who were fortunate to attend public schools often received sub-par education because many times their handicaps were not detected. So they were looked upon as misfits. Think about our own personal attitudes towards these unfortunate children in the CNMI before 1975.

Because of the lack of adequate services within the public school system, families were often forced to find services outside the public school system, often at great distance from their residence and at their own expense. Not only were these unfortunate children ostracized but were doubly handicapped because society often looked upon them as freaks.

Many families were ashamed and regarded these handicapped children as a stigma. The other children in the family were fearful that their chance for a successful marriage would be lessened. As a result, many handicapped children were locked away out of sight and kept as a dark secret. This I can recall from personal experience and from my neighbors while growing up.

Since the enactment and implementation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, this act has been successful in ensuring children with disabilities and the families of such children access to a free appropriate public education and in improving educational results for children with disabilities.

23 years of research and experience has demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective and that handicapped children and adults can be vital contributing members of society. They are entitled to the same rights and privileges as everyone else.

Since 1988 CNMI Public Law 6-10 has required the Board of Education to adopt programs to insure that all handicapped students have available free appropriate public education designed to meet their unique needs and to insure that the rights of handicapped students and their parents or guardians are protected.