美國身心障礙教育立法與判例之分析研究

Abstract

二次大戰前，身心障礙學生之受教權受到長期忽視。美國自1970年代，經由各種相關立法與法院之判決，確立身心障礙學生教育的政策與執行程序。然而由於財政等種種因素，學校與家長在處理身心障礙教育相關議題時有爭議，此時法院之判決即極為重要。基於此，本文首先探討美國自1970年代以來推行的身心障礙法案，次就歷年爭議之議題，分析相關法院的見解與影響。議題如何謂免費之適當教育、其他服務之範圍、身心障礙學生之停學、零拒絕政策、單方面安置之補助、回歸主流等，均對身心障礙教育之推行有顯著影響。本研究希望藉著對美國政府與法院在解決身心障礙教育各項爭議做法之探討，提供我國未來推行特殊教育之參考。 Historically, children with physical or mental disabilities were denied the right to a free and appropriate education by being excluded from schools. However, through a series of litigation and legislation, starting from the 1970s, addressed the rights of disabled children, states and local school districts have been required to provide needed educational services to children with disabilities to guarantee them the right to a proper education. Focusing the courts’ consistent interpretations of federal legislation protecting the rights of children with disabilities, this paper aims to examine the main policy changes for education provided for children with disabilities. Court cases related to comprehensive individual testing, individual education program, least restrictive environment, free appropriate education, exclusion of special education students, zero reject, and reimbursement for the costs of unilateral parental placement have been reviewed. It is found that the legal guideline emerged from the court cases mandates, with regard to disabled students, that equality of opportunity may require a different and more extensive program be offered.