Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

IDEA Essay Title Page

IDEA Essay
Kendra Thyen
Dakota State University

Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

Abstract
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) has impacted the
American education system with its six principles. These principle help protect students with
disabilities in many ways allowing them to receive a fair and equal education. The six principles
are: zero reject, nondiscriminatory identification and evaluation, free appropriate public
education, least restrictive environment, due process safeguards, and shared decision making.
IDEA serves students with disabilities allowing them to be able to receive an education and
better themselves in society by helping the students out of their comfort zones. IDEA has made
an impact throughout all the fifty states.

Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

Academics and extracurricular activities such as volleyball and basketball are important
to many high school students. In the life of a typical student, one of these usually trumps the
other instead of them being balanced. In a lonesome high school, in the middle of nowhere, a
remarkable volleyball coach decided to show her face. This coach brings her children to work
which makes for more exciting practices. One of her sons has an abundance of energy and loves
to attract the young womens attention. He can make someones awful day turn to an amazing
one with his beautiful smile. His name is Hudson and this young child has Downs syndrome. He
will soon be old enough to attend school and may use an (Individualized Education Program
(IEP). IDEA is a law that protects students with disabilities. It is something that Hudsons parents
have some background knowledge in case unjust instances take place. The American education
system has changed tremendously with components of IDEA. 1975 was the start of a complete
change in the American education system.
The American education system has been on a long journey confronting issues from
separate schools based on the color of your skin, to children with disabilities not being able to
receive an education. Thankfully, these prejudices have been overcome. In 1975 Congress
passed the public law, the Education for All Handicapped Children Actthe 1990 amendments
renamed the law of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Heward, 2013, p. 16). The
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) has impacted the American
society in tremendous ways. What the law of IDEA is doing is, ensuring services to children
with disabilities throughout the nation. (Building the Legacy, 2004). This is only one reason that
IDEA was created. The purpose of IDEA is that it gives all individuals, including those with
disabilities, the same rights and privileges.

Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

One purpose of IDEA is, to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to
them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education to ensure that the
rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected; (Heward, 2013, p.
16). Ensuring that all children with disabilities have a free appropriate public education is
important because it gives them the opportunity to live the life that students desire to live. For
example, a lovely young man works at Hy-Vee. His name is Casey and he has Downs Syndrome.
He absolutely loves bagging the groceries and chatting with everyone who goes through the
checkout line. Casey graduated from Watertown high school. Thanks to IDEA, Casey had a free
appropriate public education and works at Hy-Vee and loves his job.
Another Purpose of IDEA states, to assist states in the implementation of a statewide,
comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system of early intervention services
for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, (Heward, 2013, p. 16). Hudson, the
son of the volleyball coach mentioned earlier, was able to receive early intervention services
from IDEA. IDEA also proposes that, educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve
educational results for children with disabilities by supporting system improvement activities;
(Heward, 2013, p. 16). Before IDEA came into the education system, individuals with disabilities
were not able to receive any form of education. Now with IDEA, parents have tools to foster and
guide their childrens education. One other purpose of IDEA is to, assess, and ensure the
effectiveness of efforts to educate children with disabilities. (Heward, 2013, p. 16). That refers
to the assessments of the teachers in the school systems. Documentation of achievements,
student progress and improvement are ways to evaluate effectiveness. These different methods
help ensure that individuals with disabilities have the same rights. These Principles of IDEA are:

Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

zero reject, nondiscriminatory identification and evaluation, free, appropriate public education,
least restrictive environment, due process safeguards, and shared decision making.
The zero reject principle is needed to ensure schools educate all children with disabilities.
No child with disabilities may be excluded from a free public education, regardless of the nature
or severity of the disability. (Heward, 2013, p. 16). A school cannot reject a child with a
disability even if it requires the school to meet the needs of the student. Another principle is
nondiscriminatory identification and evaluation. In this principle, the schools must use
nonbiased, multifactored methods of evaluation to determine whether a child has a disability and,
if so, whether the child needs specially designed instruction benefit from education. (Heward,
2013, p. 17). It is important for teacher to keep data of all their students who may need special
education. If the general education program isnt meeting the needs of a child with disabilities,
he may be eligible to receive special education services in public schools. (Special Education
Evaluation). Not only can children with disabilities receive special education services, the
services are also, free to parents under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a
federal law, and its regulations (Special Education Evaluation).
Free appropriate public education (FAPE) is another principle of IDEA. All children no
matter their disability can receive FAPE. An individualized education program (IEP) must be
developed and implemented to meet the unique needs of each student with a disability.
(Heward, 2013, p. 17). To use an IEP their needs to be an abundance of data collected on the
student as well as an achievement test. The IEP specifies the childs present levels of
performance, identifies measureable annual goals, and describes the specific special education
and related services that will be provided to help the child attain those goals and benefit from
education. (Heward, 2013, p. 17). The achievement test is what the individual takes to see how

Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

well the individuals perform in the different academic areas and to see the discrepancy between
their general intellectual ability and achievement. The IEP contains goals that the teacher will
strive to reach to enable the student to succeed. Another principle of IDEA is known as, least
restrictive environment.
Least restrictive environment (LRE) is important because, IDEA requires schools to
educate students with disabilities with children without disabilities to the maximum extent
appropriate. (Heward, 2013, p. 17). This means, if the school that the individual is in does not
provide for their needs, the school has to provide an extensive amount of options of placements.
Another principle is due process safeguards. This principle states, Schools must follow an
extensive set of procedures to safeguard and protect the rights and interests of children with
disabilities and their parents. (Heward, 2013 p. 19). If violations occur from due process there is
a due process hearing that will proceed. The final of the six principles is shared decision making.
In the principle, schools must collaborate with parents and students with disabilities in the
planning and implementation of special education and related services. (Heward, 2013, p. 20).
The input of parents and students go into the IEP to plan and help the teachers and the other
members of the IEP team to reach the goals of the student. The school must keep in touch with
the parents. If the parents of the child who is on the IEP are not okay with something, the parents
can make their concerns and opinions known and these are then taken into consideration.
IDEA is designed to give individuals with disabilities the education many other children
with disabilities were not able to have before the first law was passed in 1975. This law protects
these individuals from people who are not striving to further and better the education of these
individuals. Hudson will have an amazing education thanks to his wonderful teachers who are

Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

working to follow the principles of IDEA. Through IDEA the school systems can better educate
students with disabilities and it will only continue to grow and develop in the coming years.

Running Head: IDEA ESSAY

Work Cited
Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2015, from http://idea.ed.gov/
Heward, W. (2013). The Purpose and Promise of Special Education. In Exceptional Children: An
introduction to Special Education (10th Edition ed., pp. 16-20). Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey: Pearson.
Special Education Evaluation: An overview. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2015, from
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/legal-rights/666-special-educationevaluation-an-overview.gs