Running head: IDEA ESSAY
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IDEA Essay
Jim Wynia
Dakota State University
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Abstract
This essay will cover the six major principles of IDEA as well as the four purposes. It
will break down each principle into the definition as defined in the textbook we are using for the
class (Exceptional Children: an introduction to special education). It will then give information
as to why that principle is important for educators to know and how it may help them in their
teaching career.
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IDEA Essay
Before the year 1975, children with disabilities struggled to get help in school systems
across the country. The lack of law, lead to hardships with school work, peers, and educators.
Since then, the United States government has had a law in place to protect individuals in the
school systems that have disabilities. In 1975 congress passed a law called the Education for All
Handicapped Children Act. Since that day, the law has been reauthorized and amended five
times. In 1990 the name was changed from the Education for All Handicapped Children Act to
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The most recent change came in 2004
when an “I” was added to the name and it became the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act (IDEIA). These laws have forever changed the way children with disabilities
receive help in school, as well as creating the special education program.
IDEA has four main purposes (Heward, 2013). First, IDEA ensures that all children with
a disability can obtain a free public education. This education will have an emphasis on special
education that will meet their specialized needs. It also protects the rights of the student and the
parent, as well as giving schools and states a guideline for how children with disabilities should
be instructed. The second purpose of IDEA is to assist the states in implementing a statewide
early intervention for preschoolers and toddlers. The third purpose is to ensure that educators
and parents have the tools needed to support the child with a disability. Finally, the fourth
purpose of IDEA is to access the effectiveness of the efforts being put forth to instruct the
student with a disability. These four purposes are what the six major principles of IDEA are
based off of. The principles are zero reject, nondiscriminatory evaluation, free and appropriate
public education, least restrictive environment, procedural safeguards, and parent participation
and shared decision making.
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The first principle of IDEA is zero reject. This principle states that no child with
disabilities may be excluded from a free public education, regardless of the nature or severity of
the disability. This is mandated in every school throughout the country for students between the
ages of six and seventeen. If the school also serves children age’s three to five or eighteen to
twenty-one that do not have disabilities, then the school also has to serve children of those ages
that have disabilities. IDEA also has a requirement, the child find system, that says that each
states education agency is responsible for locating, identifying, and evaluation children with
disabilities, or those thought to have disabilities, between birth and the age of twenty-one
(Heward, 2013). Zero reject is a principle that plays a huge part in our public education system.
Many educators have differing opinions on the principle ranging from “yes we need to give them
all the help they need” to the opinion that they should not have to be taught in a free public
setting. This controversy shapes our education system in the quality of education these children
receive. Educators and schools need to be prepared for children with severe disabilities to come
into the school to learn more efficiently and effectively. Some educators find it hard to teach
these children as some children with disabilities are more difficult to teach the same way as other
students.
Along with zero reject, another principle is nondiscriminatory evaluation. This states that
schools must use nonbiased, multifactored methods to evaluate a student. These evaluations
determine whether the child has a disability, and if they do it determines if the child needs
specially designed instruction. A few discriminatory factors include race, culture, or native
language. All of the tests must be in the child’s native language and multiple tests must be taken
to determine placement (Heward, 2013). Schools and educators need to be aware of this
principle because of the timeline for it. This principle is all about getting a child the help he or
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she needs, but there is a process that needs to take place in order to achieve this, which includes
multiple tests and evaluations. If an educator is not aware of the requirements, he or she may
give the child an evaluation that may not qualify and this will push the timeline back. In
retrospect this will ultimately delay when the student starts receiving help.
Free appropriate public education (FAPE) is the third principle of IDEA. All children
with a disability must receive a free and appropriate public education regardless of severity or
type of disability. The parents are not responsible for payment of the services. An
individualized education plan (IEP) must be developed and implemented to meet each student
with disabilities unique needs. An IEP has several sections that detail the child’s present levels
of performance, measurable annual goals, and special services the child will be receiving to
achieve those goals. IDEA also requires the school to provide an assistive technology and related
services a student might need. This may include (but is not limited to); physical therapy, special
school busses, and hearing and audible devices (Heward, 2013). FAPE is important to educators
and schools because of the financial and legal obligations it imposes. With the schools having to
cover the cost of more equipment than a student without disabilities would use, they need to have
money set aside in the budget to handle the cost. The legal aspect comes from the word
“appropriate”. Several lawsuits have been fought over the word appropriate in conjunction with
whether a student is receiving “appropriate” education. As educators we all want the best for the
students we teach, but the law does not require best. Educators need to really know this principle
due to the IEP. An IEP will contain all the information pertaining to a student with disabilities
special needs. If a need is written on the IEP an educator must allow that need to be met.
The fourth principle of IDEA is least restrictive environment (LRE). LRE requires
schools to educate students with disabilities in the same classroom as their nondisabled peers to
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the maximum extent appropriate. Students with disabilities will only be removed from the
general education classroom when they cannot receive appropriate education there. This idea is
called inclusion. If a student is to come out of the general education classroom and receive
education elsewhere it will be written on the IEP with an explanation as to why they need to be
placed elsewhere. If a student with disabilities cannot participate in lunch, recess, dances, or
transportation with their nondisabled peers, the IEP will clearly mark this as well (Heward,
2013). Educators need this principle to determine how to best meet the needs of a student with
disabilities. Placement of a student is not taken lightly by teacher, IEP teams, or administration;
it is, in fact, significantly important. Educators need to look at the IEP for the student with
disabilities to determine where he or she should test, get lecture, and participate in discussion.
Each student is different and will have varying needs when it comes to placement.
Procedural safeguards is the fifth major principle of IDEA. Procedural safeguards are put
in place so that schools protect the rights of students with disabilities and their parents. One way
that they do this is to always get parental consent before initial evaluations, subsequent
evaluations, and placement decisions. If parents and the school disagree on the results of an
evaluation performed by the school, the parents have the right to get an independent evaluation at
public expense. If they still disagree, the parents may request a due process hearing, but before
that takes place, the state must offer parents a chance to resolve the problems through third party
mediation. If parents prevail they will be reimbursed for their attorney by the school, and if the
school prevails they will be reimbursed a reasonable attorney fee by the state (Heward, 2013).
Because this principle has everything to do with rights and legality, educators need to be aware
of it to protect themselves and the child. If an educator knows this principle and follows it the
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chances of a lawsuit are slim, but if they fail to know this principle they will have a high chance
of making a mistake.
The final principle of IDEA is parent participation and shared decision making. This
principle says that the school needs to include the parents and when appropriate the student in the
decision making of IEP goals and placement (Heward, 2013). This principle is important;
because actively letting the student with disabilities and their parents in on the decision making
lets you make a more informed decision as an IEP team. The parents and student are included in
this team which permits educators to get information about life at home to see where the student
struggles not only in the education system, but at home as well.
Every student with a disability is different, therefore requiring different needs and tools
for learning. Each of these six major principles of IDEA has its own importance, but together
they form a solid foundation for educators teaching students with disabilities. Educators that are
aware of these principles will have a solid understanding of how to teach a student with a
disability in any and all situation. Even though the laws on special education are changing from
time to time, educators need to stay up to date to keep themselves, the students, and the parents
protected. All students have to right to learn; with the help of IDEA, there is a foundation that
allows learning in special cases to occur.
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References
Heward, W. L. (2013). Exeptional children: an introduction to special edcation. In W. L.
Heward, Exeptional children: an introduction to special edcation (pp. 16 - 21). Pearson.