Joanne R. Pompano
The purpose of this curriculum is to assist students and teachers in exploring the privacy issues that are of concern to disabled persons. There are three major parts to this curriculum.
l. The unit will summarize the privacy rights recognized or established by the U.S. Constitution, its amendments, as well as the state and federal laws that pertain to privacy.
2. The unit will focus on the special problems handicapped individuals may encounter concerning privacy issues such as computerized data banks, confidentiality of medical and educational records and the laws and legislation concerning the rights of disabled persons.
3. The unit will look at the laws that pertain to persons with disabilities and will investigate whether those laws provide privacy protection or in fact are creating privacy issues for disabled person.
Developed for students in grades 11-12, this unit will teach students about issues that are of vital importance to persons who are disabled. The exercises and lessons supplied will help students understand how these issues may affect disabled persons.
This unit will allow students:
l. To gain a general understanding of the U.S. Constitution including the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments
2. To debate issues such as genetic enhancement, computerized data banks, reproduction rights and confidentiality rights for disabled persons
3. To explore issues such as the non-medical use of genetic information by employers, insurance companies, and schools
4. To gain insight into the effects of the new technology in the fields of the privacy
5. To study the rights of disabled persons by following the federal laws that protect their rights including: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
6. Also, in order to understand the history of the special needs student the following
Legislation will also be investigated: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Issues of Privacy in the 21st Century
Citizens of the United States generally regard privacy as a cherished right that is protected by the Constitution. This right, it is assumed, prevents the government from interfering in private matters, protects citizens from search and seizures of personal property, and provides confidentiality in such personal matters as medical histories, personal communication and financial information. In addition, citizens expect privacy rights to protect them in their efforts to control personal information by providing them with the right to grant or deny access of that information to others.
Our privacy and confidentiality rights seem increasingly to be challenged. Many experts believe that the threat to privacy is greatly increased in this age of information where personal and business data can be linked, transferred, shared and sold, usually without knowledge or consent of individuals involved.
Privacy Issues and Disabled Persons
The right of privacy is a very important issue for handicapped individuals. For some persons who are disabled, threats to privacy and confidentiality are problems that they deal with on a daily basis. There are, in fact, a number of privacy issues that are of special concern to handicapped people.
They include the following issues:
l. the control of computerized data concerning their disability including distribution of this information to employers, associates, government agencies and merchandisers
2. the desire not to be compelled to give information to government bodies, employers, and merchants about their handicapped and medications they may be taking because of their handicaps
3. the desire to have unimpeded rights about reproduction, including decisions as to whether fetuses should be tested and corrected for handicaps
4. the special problems of confidentiality in school settings
As a teacher of blind and visually impaired students, I am concerned that my students understand the history of disabled citizens in the United States. In addition, I feel it is also important for non-disabled individuals to understand the issues important to disabled citizens. In addition, teachers with disabled students in their classrooms often have questions and concerns regarding disabled students. It seems, therefore, that many people would benefit from understanding the history of the disabled in various periods of our history. In addition, they need to understand how laws evolved to meet the challenges faced by persons who have handicapping conditions. Landmark legislation that is important to disabled persons will also be included.
The issue of privacy is a second, equally important issue, which affects this population. In researching and working on the issue of privacy in educational matters it will be necessary to learn a little about the important legislation that has been passed concerning the education of disabled children in our schools. Therefore, students will be introduced to The Americans for Disability Act and the Education for All Children. These cases are included because they are referred to in readings and will help students gain an understanding of handicap issues.
In addition, it is hoped that classroom teachers will gain information about the issues that their disabled students are concerned with concerning privacy. Certainly classroom teachers are concerned about the issues of privacy since it is a topic often discussed. For instance, classroom teachers are concerned that they be given all the information necessary to serve their students and their individual needs. Helping them to understand why there are such strict rules and regulations will assist them in their efforts to serve their students more effectively.