EDUCATION REPORT - Special Education

By Jerilyn Watson
EDUCATION REPORT –August 22, 2002: Special Education

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

More than six-million American students have physical or mental problems. These disabilities make it difficult
for them to do normal schoolwork. Some of these children cannot see, hear, or learn normally. Other children
have mental problems that prevent them from cooperating in a classroom.

Some disabled students attend special public or private schools operated to provide
for their needs. However, many disabled children attend special classes in public
schools. Students with minor¹ learning problems often study one or two subjects in
programs designed for them. They also attend classes with non -disabled children.

For years, most children with special needs were not permitted to attend public
schools. As recently as twenty-seven years ago, public schools accepted only one in (Photo -U.S. Department of
five disabled children. Many states had laws that barred children with mental Education)
problems or limited intelligence. They also barred those who could not see or hear.

By nineteen-seventy-five, however, Americans had demanded legislation to improve life for people with special
needs. That year, Congress passed the Education for all Handicapped Children Act. The law is now known as the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It orders public schools to accept and educate all children. The
Office of Special Education Programs in the Department of Education supervises programs for disabled students.

The office says the law has meant many gains for disabled children and their families. The majority of such
children now attend their local public schools in classrooms with non -disabled children. Many more disabled
students complete high school than in the past. And many more disabled students are now going to college.

However, experts say there are still problems in special education in the United States. For example, some
schools do not have teachers trained to work with disabled students. Other schools lack needed equipment or
supplies. Parents of disabled students often must become activists² to get the right services for their children.

The nation currently spends more than seven-thousand-million dollars a year on special education. Experts and
families say much more is needed to provide necessary services.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Jerilyn Watson.

 

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1 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》