IDEA Essay

Breanna DeKam
Dakota State University

IDEA Essay

Page
1
Abstract

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act changed the way people with
disabilities were seen in society. The law helped so many students receive the
education they needed to learn and grow. In 2004 for they revise the law to The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, this made some
changes that are still in place today. The changes help guarantee that all students
with disabilities will have free public education along with other necessities.

IDEA Essay

Page
2
Effects of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act on Special Education

Before 1975, children with disabilities were put into institutions and were
hoped to get better on their own. There were not teachers to guide them and their
parents were not able to be at the institutions to support them. For the most part,
children with disabilities were left on their own. Most of these children were denied
education in any schools. Within the institutions the children with disabilities were
not given the right treatment, nor were they evaluated, assessed, or educated.
Thankfully, in the year of 1975, congress passed Public Law 94-142, the Education
for All Handicapped Children Act. This law changed education forever and helped
many students in need. Later in 1990, this law was renamed to, Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, or otherwise known as IDEA. The latest changes to the
law altered the title to The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
of 2004, but most still refer to the law as IDEA.
IDEA has changed how society has looked at people with disabilities. We now see
them as any other citizen and we acknowledge that they should have the same
rights and privileges as any other member of society. IDEA affects the
responsibilities of parents, teachers (special education and general education),
school administrators, and students themselves. There are six main components of
IDEA, zero reject, nondiscriminatory evaluation, free appropriate public education,
least restrictive environment, procedural safeguards, and parent participation and
shared decision making.
The first part of IDEA is to ensure that all children with disabilities have available
to them a free appropriate public education. (Page 16 Exceptional Children) This
principle of IDEA is more commonly referred to as zero reject because it prohibits
schools from turning away any students with disabilities. Schools must educate all
children no matter how severe of the childs disability. Also, schools provide services
to students from ages 6 to 17 or from preschool until they graduate. In some cases
they will evaluate or assess students early in age and educate until 21. This is the
most important part of the act and has changed a lot of lives. This gave children
opportunities for learning that they didnt have before.
The second principle is the nondiscriminatory evaluation, which was put in place
to ensure the rights of the children and parents are protected. This portion of the
act was included for schools to evaluate students and determine if those students
have a disability. The testing must not be a bias of race, culture, or native language.
The placement of students cannot be determined from one test score and the test
must be given in that childs native language. These provisions ensure that all
students are tested fairly and justly. If the testing is not efficient then placement is
not effective and it is not helping the child in any way. This is why nondiscrimination
evaluations are so important.
Free appropriate public education was set in place to guarantee that parents did
not have to pay any fees for their child to have the correct education their rights
intended. The students education must be provided by the school and must be paid

IDEA Essay

Page
3

at their expense also. This allows all students to attend their schools in their
neighborhoods and the activities that take place too. An example is, if a child is in a
wheelchair the school cannot turn her away and must provide modifications for that
child as well. That means paying for ramps into the school and even a school bus
that is handicap assessable. These accommodations must be included into the
students individualized education program or IEP. This IEP is set up to help the
student obtain his or her goals and includes any services the school must provide to
reach those goals. Free appropriate public education is the start to helping children
learn and grow with their education. Without the necessary resources that this
principle provides the child would not be educated properly.
This next principle can be challenging for parents and school educators to agree
on. The least restrictive environment is put in place to keep students with
disabilities in a general education classroom for as much as possible throughout the
school day. Only taking the student out to a separate classroom or resource room
when their disability is such that they cannot receive an appropriate education in
the general education classroom with supplementary aids and services. (Page 19
Exceptional Children) Least restrictive environment is an issue between parents and
schools because the two parties may have different ideas to where the student
should be placed. The school must have other alternative placements for the
educators to place the child such as resource rooms, special classes, or even special
schools.
Coming to an agreement, like the previous paragraph stated, between parents
and educators are important enough that is a principle within IDEA. This section of
IDEA states that parents must participate with the students planning and the school
cannot begin the process without the parents consent first. The schools must also
agree with the parents about the implementation of any special education
decisions, like IEPs or placement decisions. Schools and parents must work together
to have the best possible outcome for the student.
The final section of IDEA talks about procedural safeguards. This states that
schools must follow a set of procedure to ensure the rights of parents and students
with disabilities are protected. Like before, the parents consent must be acquired
before any initial evaluations or decisions are made about the child in question. If
the parents and schools disagree on any decision the parents may request a due
process hearing. Parents also must have the option, provided by the school, to have
a third party mediation. If the parents win within the due process or any court case,
the school must reimburse the parents for any of the fees. Although due process
hearings are rarely needed, there are times when there are disagreements, and that
is why IDEA has put in place these safeguards.
IDEA has improved many students lives throughout the years. The principles that
are put in place have shaped what special education is today. All that goes into the
act is placed there to make the lives of students better and more fulfilling and that
is what it has done. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act changed how
society saw people with disabilities and started the change in schools. This act
made schools a better, more educated place for students with disabilities to learn

IDEA Essay

Page
4

and grow with the disabilities they have. The six principles give students the rights
they want and need. IDEA has been a major changing point and students with
disabilities, young and old, are thankful that this act was created.

IDEA Essay

Page
5

Work Cited
Exceptional Children by: William L. Heward
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html
http://idea.ed.gov/
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/idea/