Why idea was enacted

Section is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the department. Department of Justice.

For more on the Americans with Disabilities Act, visit www. View more IDEA history. Before being outlawed by the US Supreme Court in , racial segregation in schools was the norm. During that time, many states also had laws barring children with various types of disabilities, including children who were blind, deaf, or perceived to be intellectually disabled or with a mental health disability, from attending public schools or attaining public education.

Prior to the enactment of EHA, more than 4 million children with disabilities in the US had no access to public schools. To put this in perspective, only 1 in 5 children with disabilities had access to public schools. Most of these children received either limited or no educational or rehabilitation services from the government. Worst still, 3. With the enactment of EHA, and later IDEA, more than 6 million children with disabilities receive special education and related services within public schools.

IDEA is a US federal statute that governs the education of students with disabilities and related services. It was put in place to ensure that public schools serve the educational needs of students with disabilities by providing them with special education services.

This law has very specific requirements, the main focus of which is to guarantee a free appropriate public education FAPE to these students.

The law also ensures that the unique needs of students with disabilities are met as they are prepared for higher education, employment, and of course independent living. IDEA requires public schools to provide a notice to parents of students with disabilities, containing a complete description of procedural safeguards, as provided within IDEA, and the US Department of Education, or any other regulation governing the education of students with disabilities.

This statute also requires all states to issue regulations and guidelines to govern the administration of the federal law within their jurisdictions. When first enacted into law, EHA lessened the financial burden brought on public schools by the Rehabilitation Act of It required all public schools within the US to evaluate children with disabilities, and provide a proper educational plan for the children, with the input of their parents.

From the beginning, the intention of IDEA was to give children with disabilities the educational experience that would put them on par with non-disabled students. For example, this law requires children with disabilities to be placed in the least restrictive environment LRE , so as to foster their interaction with non-disabled students.

The law also supported the transition of children with disabilities from high school to adult living. As a result, IDEA now includes Individualized Education Programs IEP , which includes transition plans for these children into adulthood, by identifying suitable employment and post-school living.

In other words, it places more focus on the individual, not on the condition of the individual. For example, it was changed to conform to the updated Assistive Technology Act, which was passed just a few months before the revision of IDEA.

IDEA now promotes research and technology development, offers more details on transition from childhood to adulthood, and advocates for children to be educated in their neighborhood schools, and not in separate classrooms. As noted, the latest reauthorization of IDEA contains a number of changes that promote the development and use of assistive technologies.

It underlines the importance of integrating technology into the classroom, so as to enhance the educational curriculum for students with disabilities.

Part A lays out the basic foundation for the rest of the act, and is largely administrative. Part B entails educational procedures for individuals with disabilities, aged 3 through Part C deals with infants and toddlers with disabilities, and provides guidelines for early intervention. Part D entails national activities, such as grants from the federal government and other government institutions, as well as from non-governmental organizations NGO , for-profit companies, and other entities that are concerned with improving education for individuals with disabilities.

Concerned with general provisions and administrative issues, Part A revolves around congressional findings relevant to the act, and the definition of these issues. These definitions and findings are of great importance in the sense that they offer guidelines for the interpretation and use of IDEA. Some of the most important definitions include: child with a disability, free appropriate public education, specific learning disability, local educational agency, individualized education program, special education, agency related services, transition services, supplementary aids and services, and extra costs.

The most fundamental component of Part A revolves around new findings, which support the development and deployment of technology in the classroom. It includes the development and use of assistive technology devices and services with the aim of maximizing educational access for individuals with disabilities. In order for IDEA to conform to the provisions of the Assistive Technology Act to enhance educational access for individuals with disabilities, a list of related services is incorporated into the law so that there is uniformity.

For example, Part A stresses the significance of designing and delivering products and services that can be used and accessed by a variety of people, and still directly offer a wide range of functional capabilities even without the use of assistive technologies.

These products and services should be flexible enough to be accessed, operated, and used with assistive technologies. The provisions of Part A also stress the importance of expanding and enhancing ways in which special education teachers can ensure that requirements established by the No Child Left Behind Act are fully observed.

In essence, Part A is in place to ensure that this law has positive effects on the education of individuals with disabilities, and on making education as accessible to them as to non-disabled children.

Part B revolves around funding that the federal government offers to states for special education of children with disabilities. As a condition for this type of funding, states must provide FAPE to children with disabilities, starting at age 3 and until they turn All school districts must locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities, and determine those eligible for special education and related services.

Here is the place to connect with that language. Find out all about this extremely critical part of the law. All are intended to clarify elements of the law and its regulations, and are an important part of understanding IDEA and how to implement it.

The students who were allowed to attend public school were often placed into special classrooms that separated them from the rest of the student body and failed to support their specific learning needs. However, the sweeping changes that have happened since then are indicative of the power of public policy to benefit those who may be unable to adequately speak for themselves.

Here is a brief timeline of the history of IDEA and its impact on millions of students in this country:. May 17, : The U. Supreme Court decided in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case that it was unconstitutional for educational institutions to segregate children by race. This landmark legal ruling would have far-reaching implications for the special education arena. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ruling, the U. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided in favor of students with intellectual and learning disabilities in state-run institutions.

PARC v. Penn called for students with disabilities to be placed in publicly funded school settings that met their individual educational needs, based on a proper and thorough evaluation. December 17, : In the Mills v.