Special Education Law in the United States of America and the Sultanate of Oman Maryam Alakhzami, Ph.D. Candidate Morgan Chitiyo, Ph.D. Duquesne University Abstract During the last decade, Oman has embarked on massive reforms of the country’s education system. Although the law in Oman mandates education for all children, individuals with disabilities still encounter difficulties in accessing appropriate education. Oman lacks adequate formal and structured systems of special education, which could be addressed with a comprehensive legal framework such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the United States. IDEA reflects the United States’ concern regarding how individuals with disabilities are treated as full citizens with the same educational rights and privileges as their peers without disabilities. In its efforts to promote the educational rights of individuals with disabilities, Oman could learn from the United States experience. This paper therefore, explores the special education legislation in the United States and Oman. Doing so may provide a benchmark for Oman to establish her own legal instruments to promote sustainable development of her special education system. Special Education Law in the United States of America and the Sultanate of Oman Oman is a developing country located in the Middle East with a population of 4,687,839 people (National Centre for Statistics and Information, 2019). Since 1971 the country has witnessed rapid expansion of its education system. The rates of school enrollment increased from 900 students in 1970 to over 600,000 students in 2008/2009 representing around 70% of the total population (Ministry of Education & The World Bank, 2012). In 1998, a new basic education system was introduced to provide a unified program for grades 1 to 10, and in 2007, a new postbasic education system organized on a “core plus electives” model was introduced for grades 11 and 12 to improve the quality of education in Oman. Both reforms focus on changing the teaching profession, reducing class sizes, upgrading the qualifications and skills of teachers, updating the curriculum, adding new resources, and enhancing learning and assessment methodologies (Ministry of Education & The World Bank, 2012). Accordingly, the education participation levels in Oman are equivalent to or above other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). According to data from the Ministry of National Economy (2011), there were 62,506 individuals with disabilities in 2010 representing 3.2% of the total Omani population; this number could have increased since then but there is no updated official data available after 2010. The individuals with disabilities fall into six recognized disability categories in the country including visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical disability, memory and attention deficits, cognitive impairments (i.e., intellectual disabilities), and communication disorders (speech and/or language impairments) (Ministry of National Economy, 2011). Obviously, there is need for the country to invest in special educational programs.
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