WHAT IS SAGE?

SAGE stands for Special and Gifted Education, and its mission is to provide an opportunity for families and teachers of students who learn differently to share resources and friendships. SAGE volunteers at both Council and Rice PTA work together to provide education, communication, and support for families, engaging the teachers and administrators along the way.

WHAT EXACTLY IS SPECIAL EDUCATION?

Special education is defined as specially designed instruction provided to meet the unique needs of a student. It is designed to ensure that the student meets the same academic standards as his/her peers, and to ensure progress toward meeting IEP goals and objectives.

To be eligible to have specially designed instructions, a student has to present a disability in, at least one of the following areas: learning disability, auditory impairment, intellectual disability, autism, emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairment, speech/language impairment, traumatic brain injury or visual impairment.

IEP X 504 PLAN

An initial evaluation is needed to determine if a child qualifies as a child with a disability. Not all students who have disabilities require specialized instruction.

For the students who don't, a document called 504 Plan is created to outline their specific accommodations that will ensure their academic success and access to the learning environment. Accommodations are something that teachers provide. It can be a change in the strategies used to teach the content or a change in how instruction is delivered to students. The student will attend classes within the general education classroom.

For the students with disabilities who do require specialized instruction, an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is developed. This plan creates a program of support and services students need to make progress and thrive in school. There are many benefits to getting an IEP. It gives students, families, and schools legal protections, and it lets families be involved in decisions that impact their child’s education.

DISABILITIES AND LEARNING DISABILITIES

Disability is about having functional limitations, but even people who have the same diagnosis (disability) don't have the same experiences and limitations. There are several types of disabilities, so we will focus on:

- Autism

- Down Syndrome

- Cerebral Palsy

- Vision, Hearing, and Speech Impairment

There are also several types of learning disabilities, a group of disorders inside the working system, that affects people’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear, or to link information from different parts of the brain, and can interfere with educational achievement, social-emotional development, and self-esteem.

- Dyslexia (reading)

- Dysgraphia (writing)

- Aphasia (language)

- Dyscalculia (mathematical)

- ADHD (attention deficit)

PACE

PACE stands for Plano Academic and Creative Education and it is the PISD's gifted and talented education program. The PACE program focuses on gifted academic experiences and personal development.

PACE is included in the Rice PTA SAGE Awareness Campaign because gifted and talented students require motivating and challenging experiences that nurtures their unique academic and social-emotional needs. It does not require a 504 or IEP, and students participate in PACE based upon the results of standardized tests and observation/performance in the classroom.

WHAT TO SAY - ETIQUETTE GUIDE

People who have disabilities are people first, they are no less than anyone else. When we talk about disability it is important to think about the words we are using. You might say "a person with a disability", "a person who has Down syndrome", or "a person who uses wheelchairs". When disability is an identity, you might say "Autistic person", or "blinded person".

VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF DISABILITY RIGHTS

1776 -Act to Provide for the Settlement: After the Revolution War, soldiers who suffered significant injuries were financially subsidized by the first pension law which paid for half pay.
1815-1817 - Formal Deaf Education Begins in the U.S
1829 - Braille Invents the Raised Point Alphabet
1907 - Eugenic Sterilization Law for People with Disabilities Enacted
1932 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Person with a Disability, Elected President
1934 - 1940 - National Federation of the Blind Founded
1935 - Social Security Act was Signed into Law (a program of permanent assistance for adults with disabilities)
1950 - Beginning of National Barrier-Free Standards for buildings
1946 - National Mental Health Foundation was Founded. It exposed the abusive conditions at the mental institutions and becomes a movement toward deinstitutionalization
1947 - National "Employ the Physically Handicapped Week," Washington, D.C
1950 - The ARC Champions Abilities of People with Intellectual Disabilities founded
1954 - Brown v Board of Education. School segregation is abolished, and public schools are permitted to educate children with significant intellectual disabilities.
1962 - Ed Roberts Fights for Admission to University, starting the Independent Living Movement
1963 Community Mental Health Act signed into Law
1964 - Civil Rights Bill Bypasses Persons with Disabilities, it does not make any provision for people with disabilities, who are denied access to employment, and are discriminated against based on disability
1965 - Medicaid Assistance for People with Disabilities and those with Low-Income
1968 - The Architectural Barriers Act of It requires that all buildings designed, constructed, altered, or leased with federal funds be made accessible.
1970 - Educator and Disability Activist Judy Heumann denied her teaching license, and sue the New York City Board of Education. The stated reason was that her wheelchair was considered a fire hazard
1971 - Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - Lawsuit demanded access to education for all handicapped children
1973 - Section 504 is a part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that prohibits discrimination based upon disability, and requires the needs of students with disabilities to be met as adequately as the needs of the non-disabled
1974 - Last of "Ugly Laws" Repealed These laws allowed police to arrest and jail people for no reason other than being "disfigured" or demonstrating some type of disability
1974 - Inaugural Convention of People First
1975 - The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act was Enacted. (Amended in 1993 to recognize disability as a natural part of the human experience)
- The Education for Handicapped Children Act of 1975—later reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is signed into law.* The Act guarantees a free, appropriate, public education for all children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.
  - United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons
  - Social Model of Disability replaces Medical Model
1977 - Disability Demonstrators Occupy Federal Office of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), San Francisco, California. Demonstrators led by Judy Heumann take over the Health Education and Welfare (HEW) office in UN Plaza, San Francisco, California. They protest HEW Secretary Califano's refusal to complete regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, making it illegal for federal agencies, public universities, and other public institutions receiving any federal funds to discriminate based on disability. After 25 days, Secretary Califano relents and signs the regulations into effect. The take-over event is the longest occupation of a federal office by protestors in U.S. history.
1978 - National Council on Disability Established
- "We will ride! "Disability Activists Protest Inaccessibility of Buses, Denver, CO. Americans with Disabilities for Accessible Transportation (ADAPT) is founded.
1982 - United Nations Encourages Global Equality and Participation for the Disabled
1988 - "Deaf President Now!" Protest, Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C The Gallaudet University, the world's only university with all programs and services designed specifically for students who are deaf and hard of hearing, appointed another in a long line of hearing presidents and this generated the protest
1990 - The Pennsylvania Early Intervention Services System Act—212. Early Intervention services are offered to eligible infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from birth to entry to school age.
- Capitol Crawl Protest - After a day of rallies and speeches, over 60 activists abandoned their wheelchairs and mobility devices and began crawling the 83 stone steps up to the U.S. Capitol Building
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is signed into law prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities.
1991 - Federal Government Makes Autism a Special Education Category 1993 - National Home of Your Alliance is created to help states develop homeownership initiatives targeted to the needs of people with developmental disabilities. 1995 - National Federation of the Blind establishes dial-up synthetic-speech talking newspaper 1990 - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Education for All Handicapped Children Act is renamed IDEA 1996 - Federal Telecommunications Act was Enacted, requiring computers, telephones, closed captioning and many other telecommunication devices and equipment to be made accessible. 1998 - Assistive Technology Act Signed into Law
1998 - Assistive Technology Act Signed into Law
1999 - Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W. Most important civil rights decision for people with disabilities in US History. Olmstead requires states to provide services in the most integrated setting and reinforced the right of people with disabilities to live in the community.
2001 - The Commonwealth of Virginia Formally Expresses Regret for Eugenics
2004 - First Disability Pride Parade, Chicago
2007 the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was adopted.
2008 - West Virginia Requires Disability History to be Taught in Schools
2008 - The Maryland Fitness and Athletics Equity for Students with Disabilities Act became law, which made Maryland the first state to require schools to provide equal physical education and athletic opportunities for students with disabilities.
2009 - Rosa's Law Enacted. President Barack Obama signs legislation that replaces the term "mental retardation" with the term "intellectual disability."
2010 – The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law.
- 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act
2012 - World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD)
2014 - Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act
2017 - ADAPT Activists Fight to Save Affordable Care Act / Medicaid
2020 - Electric Shock Devices, used to interrupt self-injurious or aggressive behavior in autism and other developmental disabilities are banned