Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 206
Trim: 6¼ x 9
978-1-4758-5533-3 • Hardback • August 2020 • $76.00 • (£58.00)
978-1-4758-5534-0 • Paperback • August 2020 • $38.00 • (£30.00)
978-1-4758-5535-7 • eBook • August 2020 • $36.00 • (£30.00)
Robert F. Ladenson is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was an Illinois Special Education Due Process Hearing Officer (1987-2007).
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1. Basic Moral Questions: The Need for Philosophical Analysis
Chapter 2. The Moral Right of American Children to Receive an Appropriate K–12 Education
Chapter 3. The Zero-Reject Policy
Chapter 4. Inclusion, Community, and Justice
Chapter 5. K–12 Public School Suspensions and Expulsions
Chapter 6. Special Education Due Process Review: A Hearing Officer’s Moral Responsibility
Chapter 7. The Moral Responsibility to Provide Every American Child with a Disability
an Appropriate K–12 Education
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been the cornerstone of education for children with disabilities since its initial passage in 1975. Since that time, it has had both supporters and critics. Drawing on his extensive experience as a special education hearing officer and a professor of philosophy, Ladenson considers key moral questions at the heart of IDEA. From "free and appropriate public education" and "least restrictive environment" to "zero reject" and public-school suspensions and expulsions, Ladenson deepens readers’ understanding of the moral issues surrounding these tenets while analyzing each through the lens of four philosophical theories. Through critical analysis and logical discourse, he examines how each theory views and supports the tenets. The central concept of each theory and the focus of his analysis is the idea of social justice. Ladenson’s examination challenges readers to examine their own beliefs about the key moral questions. He completes this text with a thoughtful summary of the roles and responsibilities of elected legislators, judges, special education teachers, and parents for the education of students with disabilities. Essential.
— Choice Reviews
Moral Issues in Special Education: An Inquiry into the Basic Rights, Responsibilities, and Ideals provides a very clear and helpful overview of the legal framework in which special education issues are situated in the United States.
— Theory And Research In Education
In this book, Bob Ladenson articulates well the justification, morally and logically, for universal quality free public education, and for students with disabilities in particular. His years of experience as a special education hearing officer, and an academic philosopher and ethicist provide a unique vantage point for this analysis. He blends philosophy with individual examples from his work, giving the reader the benefit of understanding both the theory and the real world application. I intend on using this in my classes.— Julie Underwood, Susan Engeleiter Professor of Education Law, Policy, and Practice; and Dean Emerita, School of Education, University of Wisconsin
Dr. Ladenson challenges us to contemplate the fundamental aims of public education and its purpose in serving those who are most in need. His work is groundbreaking as it relates to the moral obligation we hold to our students classified with disabilities. He provides hope for those who need it most.— Matthew C. Williams Ph.D., principal of Henninger High School, Syracuse, New York, and former director of special education, Syracuse City school district
Robert Ladenson has written an important and much needed book for the field of special education, one that should be read by practitioners, policy makers, and academics. Professor Ladenson's focus on philosophical theories of social justice helps us understand better the moral arguments underlying difficult issues in the education of children with disabilities and provides persuasive, morally justifiable ways of resolving them.— Lois A. Weinberg, professor and coordinator of the joint doctoral program in special education, Special Education and Counseling, California State University, Los Angeles