ABSTRACT
More people with disabilities are pursing postsecondary education than ever before (Baldwin, 2007; Papalia-Berardi, Hughes, and Papalia, 2002). These students major in myriad programs, including teacher education. Federal civil rights legislation paved the way for greater access to higher education. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination “solely on the basis of disability,” and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) aims at creating a “fair and level playing field” for eligible people with disabilities (Hardman, Drew, and Egan, 2008). Faculty members in teacher preparation have a legal and ethical obligation to comply with Section 504 and ADA. Simultaneously, there is a legal and ethical imperative to prepare teacher candidates for the demands they will be expected to perform autonomously in the classroom. Both the No Child Left Behind Act of 2010 (NCLB and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA require local education agencies to employ highly qualified teachers. In turn, these mandates affect teacher preparation programs, which are responsible for preparing competent teacher candidates. Herein lies a challenge: Balancing the rights of teacher candidates with disabilities with professional standards that presumably lead to effective teaching. The purpose of this chapter is to prompt dialogue about this challenge and examination of academic programs. Legal, theoretical, and empirical sources will be presented to ground analysis of three case studies, with implications for one’s own teaching.
