Reflections on Oberti v. Board of Education

Oberti v. Board of Education was a case brought before the US Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit in 1993.  Rafeal Oberti was a child with Down's Syndrome.  His parents sued the Borough of Clementon School District for the right for Oberti to be educated in his neighborhood school in the regular education classroom.  The federal court upheld the district court decision in favor of the parents and argued that full inclusion in the regular education classroom was a right, not a privilege.   Circuit Judge Becker stated that the school system must "supplement and realign their resources" to meet the unique needs of disabled children in the regular classroom.  He argued that children with special needs are not expected to receive the "same" education as their non-disabled peers, but rather an education that has been aligned with supplemental aids and services to meet their unique needs.  This has led to a "continuum of services" in the educational system in order to include children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment possible.  The continuum of service ranges from the least restrictive being the regular education classroom with no special education services, to a separate setting in a separate facility.  It is the intention of IDEA for children to be educated as much as possible with their typical developing peers and that it is the burden of the school system rather than the individual to prove their compliance with the requirements of IDEA.  The school system must "...show by a preponderance of the evidence that the child cannot be educated satisfactorily in a regular class with supplementary aids and services." (from 995 F2d 1204 Oberti v. Board of Education of Borough of Clementon School District)

Susan Ryan CDFR 4300 Introduction

Hello.  My name is Susan Ryan.  I live in Raleigh, NC with my husband and 2 daughters.  Bryan and I have been married for 25(!) years.  Our oldest daughter, Sami, is a freshman at UNC Charlotte.  Our youngest daughter, Sunni, is a sophomore at Enloe High School.  I am in my fifth year of teaching for the Wake County Public School System in a full-day, special needs pre-k classroom.  All 12 of my students have been identified with developmental delays and have IEP's.  I feel very fortunate to be working at a school where the administration and all other staff are very supportive of my program.  I am also very fortunate to have 2 hard-working, high-quality teaching assistants working with me.  I find teaching young children with special needs to be both challenging and exciting.  It is a constant effort to find the best way to blend the ideals of an early childhood program with the unique needs of each individual child.  It takes a real team effort from my classroom staff, the school administration, other professionals working with my students, and the parents of my students.
This ECU class CDFR 4300 is the last in my B-K plan of study.  I have found all the ECU classes I have taken to be enriching and very helpful.  I have no doubt that this class will be equally so.  I look forward to sharing my experiences with you this semester and benefiting from all of your good ideas and suggestions.