Kelly Stieben
IDEA 6 Principles
April 27, 2011
After spending some time reviewing the six principles of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) I have come to the conclusion that I will uphold these principles in my
classroom at a top priority. In our education environment the responsibility cannot always be
placed on the resource, or special education teachers to help students with disabilities receive a
quality education. I feel that regular classroom teachers need to have a heightened sense of
awareness, in terms of the IDEA principles, in order to ensure that each and every student,
regardless of ability, receives a high quality education. The following six principles will affect
my daily classroom environment and I will continue to regard them with great importance.
The first principle is called zero reject, and it states that schools must educate all children
with disabilities. In my classroom I will not be the teacher that turns a child away if they are
disabled, but instead welcome them in so that they feel that are wanted. I will educate the
remainder of my students to act in a compassionate way so as to prevent them from rejecting the
disabled student. The more my non-disabled students interact with children with needs the more
they will become familiar and comfortable.
Discrimination happens in life whether we are aware of it or not. I believe that
discrimination should not exist in schools, and will not exist in my classroom. The second IDEA
principle says that schools must use nonbiased, multifactored methods of evaluation to determine
whether a child has a disability, and they cannot be discriminated upon for race, culture, or
native language. My classroom will be an environment where everyone embraces individuality,
and my students will know that it is ok to be different. If I have disabled students in my
classroom they will not be discriminated upon with any of the activities that take place. For me,
Kelly Stieben
IDEA 6 Principles
April 27, 2011
the discrimination will not occur with testing or evaluations. My disabled students will have
modifications made when necessary and I will take into account their needs and goals.
The third principle is extremely important to keep in mind. All children with disabilities
are allowed a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). As an educator I will work with the
disabled student’s families, resource teachers, and anyone else on the individualized education
program team to be sure that my classroom meets the needs of the student. I want my learning
environment to be open to all students regardless of where they come from and what issues they
face.
Children with needs should be placed in an environment that best meets their learning
goals. Sometimes that is not the regular classroom and it might be a separate room, or the
resource room. I will modify my classroom, if needed, to try and meet the needs of any disabled
students by making it their least restrictive environment. I do realize that this cannot always
happen but I do want to be as welcoming as possible.
Everything surrounding education takes place in an order and there are always steps to
follow. This fact is no less true when dealing with disabled children’s education. Due process
safeguards are an important part of the IDEA principles, and it was put in place to be certain that
those children get what they need from the school system. This will affect my classroom because
I will need to be aware of what processes, and chain of commands to follow. Parents have a right
to know what is going on with their disabled child in my classroom, and they have a right to
disagree. This goes hand in hand with the final principle of parent and student participation and
shared decision making. What goes on in my classroom will be shared with my student’s
parents and they will feel comfortable contacting me if they feel they are not getting the
Kelly Stieben
IDEA 6 Principles
April 27, 2011
information they need. When decisions are made I will join in with the student and the parent so
that we are all aware of changes, and progress made. I believe that more good can be done when
families and educators work as a team.
IDEA put into place a system for safeguarding students and ensuring that they have a
positive learning environment. My classroom will be a place that puts these principles into action
whenever necessary so I can help my students make progress towards achieving their goals.