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Individual with Disability Education Act
By: Ryan Gimbel
SPED 100
Sandi Steinhoff-Muller
Revised my Marcella Gimbel
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Abstract
The following contents of essay will be discussing elements of Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act. It will cover the six principles Zero Reject,
Nondiscriminatory Evaluation, Free Appropriate Public Education, Least Restrictive
Environment, Procedural Safeguards, and Parent Participation and Shared Decision
Making. Also covering other points that tie into IDEA. When IDEA is used properly it
gives fraught students the keys to becoming successful.
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In 1975 Congress passed Public Law 94-142 originally called Education for All
Handicapped Children Act (Heward, 2013). The goal of this law was to improve students
with disabilities education. PL 94-142 was amended 5 times, the 1990 amend changed
the name of the law to Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which is most often
referred too (Heward, 2013). The most recent modification was in 2004, in which the
name was changed to The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement (Heward,
2013). IDEA had a tremendous effect on the school system, both faculty and students
were affected. IDEA law proposes that all students with disabilities be treated like full
citizens with same rights and privileges that all non-disabled students experience.
The purpose of IDEA is to ensure that all children with disabilities have available
to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related
services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education,
employment, and independent living (Heward, 2013). IDEA is broken up into six major
principles: zero reject, nondiscriminatory evaluation, free appropriate public education
(FAPE), least restrictive environment (LRE), procedural safeguards, parents participation
and shared decision making.(Heward, 2013).
Zero Reject states that schools must educate all children with disabilities, no child
with disabilities may be excluded from a free public education, regardless of the nature or
severity of the disability (Heward, 2013). The requirement to provide special education to
all students with disabilities is absolute between the ages six and seventeen. Each states
education agency is responsible for locating, identifying, and evaluating all children,
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from birth to age twenty one (Heward, 2013). This requirement of IDEA is called the
child find system.
Nondiscriminatory evaluation declares that schools must use nonbiased, multifactored methods of evaluation to determine whether a child has a disability and if so,
whether the child needs specially designed instruction to benefit from education (Heward,
2013). Testing and evaluation must not discriminate on the basis of race, culture, or
native languages (Heward, 2013). Test must also be presented in the student’s native
language. Test scores may also not be based on one test score. These provisions of IDEA
are known as protection in evaluation procedures.
Free appropriate public education (FAPE) states all children with disabilities,
regardless of the type or severity of their disability, shall receive a free appropriate public
education (Heward, 2013). The education must be provided at public expense, meaning
without expense to their parents (Heward, 2013). When students have unique needs or
circumstances an individualized education program (IEP) is to be formed. The IEP
specifies the child’s present levels of performance, identifies measurable annual goals,
and describes the specific special education and related services that will be provided to
help the child attain those goals and benefit from education (Heward, 2013). For example
a student who has a wheelchair may require a handicapped accessible van for use to and
from school: it is the schools responsibility to provide proper accommodations at no
expense to the parents. A student with an orthopedic impairment may need physical
therapy to maintain sufficient strength and flexibility in her/his arms and legs. IDEA
requires that schools provide any related services and assistive technology that a child
with a disability may need to access and benefit from special education (Heward, 2013)
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Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) requires schools to educate students with
disabilities with children without disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate and that
students with disabilities be removed to separate classes or schools only when the nature
or severity of their disabilities is such that they cannot receive an appropriate education in
a general education classroom with supplementary aids and services (Heward, 2013). If a
student is moved into a location that is not the current classroom this must be stated on
the IEP form with justification. To ensure that each student with disabilities is educated
in the LRE appropriate for his/her needs, school district must provide a continuum of
alternative placements and service alternatives, for example: resource room, special
classroom and special schools (Heward, 2013)
Procedural safeguards states that schools must follow an extensive set of
procedures to safeguard and protect the rights and interests of children with disabilities
and their parents (Heward, 2013). Parental consent must be gained for adequate
assessment and placement. Schools must maintain confidentiality of all records
pertaining to a child with disabilities and make those records available to the parents
(Heward, 2013). When parents of a child with disabilities disagree with the results of an
evaluation performed by the school, they can obtain an independent evaluation at pubic
expense (Heward, 2013). When the school and parents disagree on the identification,
evaluation, placement, or provision of a FAPE and related services for the child, the
parents may request a due process hearing (Heward, 2013).
Parent participation and shared decisions making claims that schools must
collaborate with parents and students with disabilities in the planning and implementation
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of special education and related services (Heward, 2013). Parent’s wishes and concerns
must be considered when determining IEP goals (Heward, 2013).
Granted the six principles are the foundations in which IDEA is built upon, there
are however additions provisions of IDEA. Some of the provisions for example include
special education for preschoolers, assistive technology, and scientifically based
instruction.
States are serving at most 70% of preschool children with disabilities and that
early interventions services for infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth through
age two were scarce of nonexistent in many states, Congress included provisions in the
education of the Handicapped Act Amendments in 1986 (Pl 99-457) to expand services
for these segments of the population (Heward, 2013). This requires all states to serve
preschool children with disabilities ages three-five.
The law defines assistive technology as “any item, piece of equipment, or product
system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized that is
used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with disability”
(Heward, 2013). This technology can include alternative and augmentative
communication devices, low-vision aids, positioning and mobility devices, and adaptive
toys and games (Heward, 2013). As stated in FAPE the school must provide
accommodations for those needs, like wheel chair accessible vans, wheelchair ramps, or
bathroom accommodations.
The basic idea of universal design for learning (UDL ) is that new curricular
materials and learning technologies should be designed from the beginning to be flexible
enough to accommodate the learning styles of a wide range of individuals (Heward,
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2013). Many different strategies to help students learn must be attempted to prove
optimal success.
When congress passed IDEA in 1975 it promised to provide federal funds for
40% of the excess cost of educating children with disabilities (Heward, 2013). But
congress has never actually appropriated more than 18% of the national average
(Heward, 2013).
IDEA has had a positive affect in school. If it weren’t for the passing of IDEA in
1975 my cousin Derek whom suffers from Down Syndrome would not be allowed a free
public education. By attending public school he has been able to fully experience a
regular classroom, while still being able to attain one on one interaction in the special
education classroom. By exposing Derek to students in a regular classroom setting he has
learned qualities such as friendship, discipline, and patience.
IDEA has improved the overall education of students with disabilities. Without
this law students with disabilities would not be treated equally in a classroom setting.
This law gives students with disabilities a chance at obtaining a proper education. With
this law instilled students everywhere will have the opportunity of gaining a free
appropriate education in an unbiased least restrictive environment.
Work Cited
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Heward, W. L. (2013). Exceptional children (10th ed., International ed.). Upper Saddle
River: Pearson.