Special Ed and Law in Texas

1. Why is IDEAs mandate of a "free appropriate public education" a subject of continuing litigation between schools and parents of children with disabilities?
2. Should students with disabilities be fully included in regular classrooms for the entire school day or should a students placement be individually determined using a continuum of placement options?
3. How can teacher shape the attitudes of the students who are not disabled toward student's with disabilities?
4. Discuss to what extent and under what circumstances students with disabilities should be disciplined in the same way as their peers who are not disabled.Should it matter that the student's misconduct is directly related to his or her disability?Or is it always possible to establish some tie between misconduct and disability?
5. Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code attempts to bring a greater degree of safety to public schools and return student disciplinary decisions to local control.Compare and contrast the provisions of the chapter that make certain disciplinary action mandatory and provisions where the district has a greater degree of latitude.Discuss whether the statute achieves its purpose.
6. Review the Code of Ethics and Standard Practices for Texas Educators, which delineates enforceable standards for professional conduct, practices, and performance.Do these standard's address the majority of situations with which a teacher may be confronted?Are there standards that should be included or omitted from the Code?