The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a piece of American legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) from 1975 to 1990. In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA. Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability.
IDEA is composed of four parts, the main two being part A and part B.Hulett, Kurt E. (2009). Legal Aspects of Special Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc., ISBN 0131173464 OCLC 815827554 Part A covers the general provisions of the law; Part B covers assistance for education of all children with disabilities; Part C covers infants and toddlers with disabilities, including children from birth to age three; and Part D consists of the national support programs administered at the federal level. Each part of the law has remained largely the same since the original enactment in 1975.
In practice, IDEA is composed of six main elements that illuminate its main points. These six elements are: Individualized Education Program (IEP); Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE); Least Restrictive Environment (LRE); Appropriate Evaluation; Parent and Teacher Participation; and Procedural Safeguards. To go along with those six main elements, there are also a few other important components that tie into IDEA: Confidentiality of Information, Transition Services, and Discipline. Throughout the years of IDEA's being reauthorized, these components have become key concepts when learning about IDEA.See note 1 above
Background and historical context Historical context In 1954, the established educational format in the United States of segregating black and white students into separate schools was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.. This declaration caused a great deal of unrest in the political sphere and marked a gateway moment in the Civil Rights Movement. Education was an important aspect of the Civil Rights Movement.
The 1960s and early 1970s were marked by strife in the United States, from the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 to the Vietnam war ongoing from 1955 until 1975. On top of those events, the Civil Rights Movement was in full force in the United States. From schools being integrated to the Montgomery bus boycott, from Greensboro sit-ins to marches on Washington, equal rights for all was a prevalent ideal. President John F. Kennedy showed interest in cognitive impairment studies and President Lyndon Johnson used Federal funds to increase research on "at-risk" youth. Early intervention programs for children living in low socioeconomic situations, such as the Head Start Program, began showing up around the country.Keogh, Barbara (Fall 2007). "Celebrating PL 94-142: The Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975". Issues in Teacher Education 16 (2): 65–69. Education was soon at the forefront of many political agendas.
As of the early 1970s, U.S. public schools accommodated 1 out of 5 children with disabilities.United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. History: Twenty-Five Years of Progress in Educating Children With Disabilities Through IDEA. Date of Publication Unknown.http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.pdf Until that time, many states had laws that explicitly excluded children with certain types of disabilities from attending public school, including children who were blind, deaf, and children labeled "emotionally disturbed" or "mentally retarded."Back to School on Civil Rights: Advancing the Federal Commitment to Leave No Child Behind," a report published by the National Council on Disability on January 25, 2000. At the time, 3.5 million disabled children attended school but were "warehoused" in segregated facilities and received little or no effective instruction. More than 1 million children had no access to the public school system, with many of them living at state institutions where they received limited or no educational or rehabilitation services.Schiller, Ellen, Fran O'Reilly, Tom Fiore, Marking the Progress of IDEA Implementation, published by the Office of Special Education Programs. URL: , Retrieved June 26, 2007. About 75% of deaf or blind children attended state institutions. - Clipping of first page and of second page at Newspapers.com.
Education for Handicapped Children (1975)
The first legislation to provide relief was the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Congress then enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975 to alleviate the financial burden created by litigation pursuant to the Rehabilitation Act. Public schools were required to evaluate children with disabilities and create an educational plan with parent input so as to emulate as closely as possible the educational experience of non-disabled students. Students should be placed in the least restrictive environment, one that allows the maximum possible opportunity to interact with non-impaired students. Separate schooling may occur only when the nature or severity of the disability is such that instructional goals cannot be achieved in the regular classroom. Finally, the law contains a due-process clause that guarantees an impartial hearing to resolve conflicts between the parents of disabled children and the school system.
The act also required that school districts provide administrative procedures so that parents of disabled children could dispute decisions made about their children's education. Once the administrative efforts were exhausted, parents were then authorized to seek judicial review of the administration's decision.
IDEA (1990) In 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act replaced the EHA in order to place more focus on the individual, as opposed to a condition that individual may have."EHA is Out, IDEA is In". Retrieved October 30, 2011. The IDEA also had many improvements on the EHA, such as promoting research and technology development, details on transition programs for students post-high school and programs that educate children in their neighborhood schools, as opposed to separate schools."Twenty-Five Years of Progress in Education Children with Disabilities Through IDEA". Retrieved October 30, 2011.
By 2003, only 25% of deaf or blind children were educated at state institutions.
As of 2006, more than 6 million children in the U.S. received special education services through IDEA.IDEA Parent Guide, National Center for Learning Disabilities, April 2006. URL:http://www.ncld.org/images/stories/downloads/parent_center/idea2004parentguide.pdf, Retrieved June 16, 2007.
Six pillars of IDEA Individualized Education Program (IEP)
The IDEA requires that public schools create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student who is found to be eligible under both the federal and state eligibility/disability standards. The IEP describes the student's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, and how the student's disabilities affect or would affect the child's involvement in the general education curriculum. The IEP also specifies the services to be provided and how often, and it specifies accommodations and modifications to be provided for the student. |Johnson, Scott F. Esq. Special Education & Educational Standards. NHEdLaw, LLC. Retrieved July 1, 2007.
The U.S. Supreme Court has described the IEP as "the centerpiece of the statute's education delivery system for disabled children". Honig v. Doe, 484 U.S. 305, 311 (1988) The IEP is the "basis for the handicapped child's entitlement to an individualized and appropriate education," and the school system must design the IEP "to meet the unique needs of each child with a disability." Phillip C. v. Jefferson County Bd. of Educ., 701 F. 3d 691, 694 (11th Cir. 2012), citing Doe v. Ala. State Dep't of Educ., 915 F.2d 651, 654 (11th Cir. 1990) and Winkelman v. Parma City Sch. Dist., 550 U.S. 516, 524 (2007). An IEP must be designed to meet the unique educational needs of that child in the Least Restrictive Environment appropriate to the needs of that child.
When a child qualifies for services, an IEP team is convened to design an education plan. In addition to the child's parents, the IEP team must include at least: one of the child's regular education teachers (if applicable); a special education teacher; someone who can interpret the educational implications of the child's evaluation, such as a school psychologist; any related service personnel deemed appropriate or necessary; and an administrator or CSE (Committee of Special Education) representative who has adequate knowledge of the availability of services in the district and the authority to commit those services on behalf of the child. Parents are considered to be equal members of the IEP team along with the school staff. Based on the full educational evaluation results, this team collaborates to write for the individual child an IEP that will provide a free, appropriate public education.
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Guaranteed by the IDEA, Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is defined as "special education and related services that: A) are provided at the public's expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; B) meet the standards of the State educational agency; C) include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary school education in the State involved; and D) are provided in conformity with the individualized education program under section 614(d). (Pub. L. No. 94-142, § 602(9))" To provide FAPE, schools must provide students with an "education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.".
The IDEA includes requirements that schools provide each disabled student an education that: is designed to meet the unique needs of that one student; provides "access to the general curriculum to meet the challenging expectations established for all children" (that is, it meets the approximate grade-level standards of the state educational agency.) is provided in accordance with the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) as defined in 1414(d)(3).. results in educational benefit to the child.
Least restrictive environment (LRE)
The U.S. Department of Education, 2005a regulations implementing IDEA requires that "to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities including children in public or private institutions or care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled." The regulations further state that "special classes, separate schooling or other removals of children with disabilities from regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily." In other words, the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is the environment most like that of typical children in which the child with a disability can succeed academically (as measured by the specific goals in the student's IEP).
The court in Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education, relying on Roncker, developed a two-part test for determining whether the LRE requirement is met: Can an appropriate education in the general education classroom with the use of supplementary aids and services be achieved satisfactorily? If a student is placed in a more restrictive setting, is the student "integrated" to the "maximum extent appropriate"? (Standard in AL, DE, GA, FL, LA, MS, NJ, PA, TX).