Special Education
Special Education, schooling programs designed to meet the needs of students whose physical or mental disabilities, emotional problems, or cultural disadvantages prevent them from receiving the full benefit of a standard school curriculum.
In the United States, federal law requires the states to provide all students with “free and appropriate education,” including instruction for students whose native language is not English and for “exceptional students.” Exceptional students are defined by law as the mentally retarded, hard-of-hearing, deaf, speech-impaired, visually impaired, deaf-blind, seriously emotionally disturbed, or physically disabled, or those with a specific learning disability. (Some schools also use the term “exceptional students” for children who are intellectually or artistically gifted and offer them programs designed to develop their special abilities.)
Special education may be provided through separate classes, instructional materials and curricula specifically designed for exceptional students, specially trained instructors, or a combination of these methods and resources. In many situations, exceptional students are taught along with regular students while still receiving special attention; this integration of exceptional and non-exceptional students is called mainstreaming.