Assistive Technology Wiki
When Due: Week of 3/3/08
What is Due: 1 completed resource collection from each person.
Assignment Description:
If you are assigned a law about assistive technology, your collection of resources will
follow this outline:
1. Overview of the law.
IDEA is our nation's special education law. IDEA stands for Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act. The IDEA was originally enacted by Congress in 1975 to
ensure services to children with disabilities throughtout the nation. This law became a
federal statute in 1990 guaranteeing that children with disabilities receive a free
appropriate public education, just like other children. IDEA governs how states and public
agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5
million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. The law has been
revised many times with the most recent amendments being passed by Congress in
December 2004, with final regulations published in August 2006.
http://www.nichcy.org/idealaw.htm
http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home
2. What prompted this law to be enacted?
Before IDEA, we had the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, but before
that the U.S. public schools educated only 1 out of 5 children with disabilities. Sadly,
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." The Elementary and
Secondary Education Act along with the State School Act provided states with grant
assistance to help educate students with disabilities. In 1974, the Education for All
Handicapped Children Act was enacted. At the time, more than 1 million children in
the U.S. had no access to the public school system. These and other laws began to
open doors for children with disabilities. Eventually, congress adopted IDEA as the
federal standard. This law has been revised many times and most recently was
amended in 2004. Now, after revisions some refer to IDEA as IDEA 2004.
http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act#_note-2
3.What are the law’s provisions?
IDEA provides federal financial assistance to state and local educational agencies for
special education and related services to students with disabilities. One of the first
provisions of the law to examine is eligibility for services. Not everyone with a disability
qualifies for IDEA. IDEA defines a "child with a disability" as a child with mental
retardation, hearing impairments, speech or language impairments, visual
impairments, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism,
traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and,
who needs special education and related services." 20 U.S.C. § 1401(3)(A). The next
main provision within IDEA is providing a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). FAPE
insures that each specific child receives an individualized educational program. 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.” 20 U.S.C.
§1400(c)(5)(A)(i). Along with FAPE, students are provided an Individualized Education Plan
(IEP). The IEP specifies the services to be provided and how often, describes the
student's present levels of performance and how the student's disabilities affect
academic performance, and specifies accommodations and modifications to be
provided for the student. An IEP must be designed to meet the unique educational
needs of that one child in the Least Restrictive Environment which is another
provision of IDEA. The LRE usually is the same environment that other children
learn in. Some other related services that fall under IDEA can include anything from
transportation, counseling, school health services, and parent participation just to
name a few.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act#_ref-11
20 U.S.C. § 1401(3)(A)
3. What are the law’s implications for public schools?
4. An annotated list of resources about the law
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act#_ref11
2. 20 U.S.C. § 1401(3)(A)
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act#_note
-2
4. http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.pdf
5. http://www.nichcy.org/idealaw.htm
6. http://idea.ed.gov/explore/home
http://w301atresources.wikispaces.com/Individuals+with+Disabilities+Education+Act+%28IDEA%2
9+P.L.+94-142
http://www.museumofdisability.org/html/exhibits/society/exb_law.html
http://www.doe.state.in.us/
http://idea.ed.gov/index.jhtml?src=a