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Ideia Essay
Ideia Essay
Rebecca L. Pinkerton
Abstract
IDEIA was developed to help children with disabilities receive the same rights that
nondisabled students acquired. This essay is to elaborate on the importance of Individuals with
Disabilities Education Improvement Act and how it affects children with a disability. It discusses
IDEIA and the history behind it, including court cases that influenced and built parts of IDEIA.
Some court cases include Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Stuart v. Nappi, and Honing
v. Doe. All thirteen categories of disabilities in IDEIA will be interpreted. Throughout the essay
accommodations, Free Appropriate Public Education, and IEP’s will be thoroughly examined.
Disabilities, impairments, handicaps, and at risk students will be defined. Also, the process of the
Before 1975, children with a disability were regarded in the most deficient of terms and
were not acknowledged. Schools and other public places had the right to ban a child or an adult
with a disability. Then there was the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which included Section 504.
Section 504 states that states who receive federal funding were banned on the bases of
discrimination, exclusion, or segregation of people with a disability (Aron & Loprest, 2012).
Those covered by Section 504 must be qualified under the state that the child is in and the federal
IDEIA was established in 1975 by Congress and signed by President Ford. Education for All
Handicapped Children Act was revised in 1990 to Individuals with Disabilities Act and then in
IDEIA has several parts that have been added to it over the years to ensure children with
disabilities can receive equivalent rights as those who do not have a disability. Part one and two
were established when IDEIA was created. Part one states that all students with a disability can
attend public school with service that are designed to meet their needs. They were allowed to
have a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment, which is
in a classroom alongside those who are nondisabled. Part two authorizes federal grants to states
to help fund the cost of having special education services for students between the age of three to
twenty-one (Aron & Loprest, 2012). Part three was established in 1986 as a federal grant, eleven
years after IDEIA was created. It focuses more on children who are born with a disability or
significant delay to age two. The goal was to focus on enhancing infants with a disability in order
The History and Importance of IDEIA 4
for it to reduce the cost, improve academic opportunities, improve futuristic opportunities, and
improve the likelihood of that child being able to depend on themselves in the future.
Court Cases
Many court cases have influenced the creation of IDEIA. One of them being Brown v.
Board of Education of Topeka was the beginning of a movement to revitalize how the school
system can open their doors to more diverse students. Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in
1954 was a supreme court case that states that racial segregation within public schools violated
the equal dependent clause of the fourteenth amendment (McBride, 2006). It made it so those of
different races could go to the same schools. This brought up the question, “Why couldn’t
children with disabilities have the same rights to a proper education as children who are
nondisabled?”
More court cases were established during the time of IDEIA to better benefit
children.One of the court cases was Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1972. It states that since the courts could not prove that
children with a disability was unteachable or to demonstrate a rational reason to segregate them
from other children, they were allowed a free public education (Heward 2006). PARC also
included that the parents had the right to know in advance if anything were to change on their
When disciplining exceptional students, there are several court cases that regulate the
disciplining factors. In 1978, Stuart v. Nappi mandated that a school district cannot discipline an
exceptional child if the behavior is related to their disability (Zilz 2006). Also, in 1988 Honing v.
Doe confirmed that a school district cannot suspend exceptional children for more than ten days
The History and Importance of IDEIA 5
due to it potentially causing them a setback in their academics. To determine whether or not the
student's disability was the cause and what to do in case it was not the cause the IEP team forms
ruled that if an exceptional child would only benefit a small amount or none at all from special
education services than the school does not have to provide them. However, this ruling was
appealed later that same year and ruled that public schools must educate all children with
disabilities regardless of how little they may benefit. Finally, the Board of Education of the
Hendrick Hudson Central State District v. Rowley of 1982 determined that exceptional children
would receive special services such as assistive technology that the school would provide when
There are six major principles that IDEIA must follow such as Zero Reject, Least
Evaluation. Zero Reject refers to schools being banned from rejecting children with a disability.
Schools must educate all children with a disability no matter the severity. Each state is required
to identify, evaluate, and locate exceptional children from birth to twenty-one. LRE is where
exceptional children are in the general education classrooms for an appropriate amount
depending on the severity of their disability for their day and when it is necessary they are taken
to a separate classroom or school. Such as a exceptional student who has a reading learning
disability is taken out of the general education classroom during reading period and they must go
to the special education classroom. For example, an exceptional child who is taken to another
The History and Importance of IDEIA 6
school could have a disability that is so severe they need medical attention all the time and the
public school that they are in cannot provide those services. The IEP should include why a child
needs to be in a separate classroom and how much time an exceptional child should be in the
general classroom compared to the special education classroom. Procedural Safeguards is where
the rights of the parent and exceptional child must be protected and remain confidential. A
school must obtain a parent's consent to evaluate their child to see if they are eligible for special
education. If there is a conflict a parent may request for a due process hearing however, most of
the time conflicts between the school and parent are resolved without going to court.
According to the IEP the parent of an exceptional child or nondisabled child must be
notified before any changes are conducted to their child's education. Both the child and the
parent must have a say in the planning and implementation of special education services that will
be needed. Their inputs and wishes must be included when developing the child's goals and
placement decision (Heward 2006). A school must provide a FAPE to all exceptional students
regardless of their severity. An IEP must be developed to specify how that child is academically
performing, measurable annual goals, and the services provided for those students to obtain those
whether that child has a disability and needs special services. Schools must also use multiple
tests and evaluations to determine whether they are eligible for an Individual Education
Program(IEP).
Categories
Exceptional children are defined as being either above or below the norm to an extent
that special educational services are needed (Heward 2006). However, unlike Section 504 that
The History and Importance of IDEIA 7
included all students with a disability, IDEIA must be from select categories that are included
with impairments, disabilities, handicaps, and children who are at risk. An impairment is when a
child has a reduction or loss pertaining to a specific body part whether it’s partially functioning
or not at all. For example, a child with glasses has a vision impairment but that can be overcome
with glasses. A disability is when a child's impairment limits their ability to perform in certain
activities. For example, if a child has one leg it can potentially limit their ability to perform in
gym or any everyday activity. Heward states that being handicapped is a disadvantage that is
encountered with those who have a disability or impairment and struggles interacting with the
environment. For example, a child with a handicap performs perfectly in everything except for
the situations where their disability or impairment is affected. However, not all children who
have a disability do not have a handicap. At risk includes children who have a greater than
average chance of developing a disability, but at the moment are performing a little higher than
There are thirteen categories and within them are almost six million children that IDEIA
supports. The largest category containing forty-two percent of children with a disability is
Specific Learning Disabilities, which is when a child has difficulty with reading, writing,
speaking, math, and listening. Then follows Speech or Language Impairments, Other Health
Traumatic Brain Injury, and Deaf-Blindness. From age three to nine the number of children with
a disability increases, but after age nine it starts the decrease until age seventeen. A lot of
children are affected by many disabilities but only one can be identified and placed on the IEP.
The History and Importance of IDEIA 8
Process of Qualification
Individuals Education Program is a complex development. The first thing is for the child
to become eligible. For an exceptional child to become eligible their teacher or parent must first
show concerns about their students education and report it to the school district. A teacher should
first try some trial and errors in the classroom. For example, try moving the student around in the
classroom such as sitting upfront or sitting next to students who are respectful and cause little
distractions. Then notify the parents and receive their consent to perform testing to evaluate if
they need special services. One test will not be able to qualify a student for an IEP, which means
The evaluations must be unbiased, for example if the child speaks another language then
the tests must also be in that language. Once it is established that a child requires an IEP the
general education teacher must work with the special education teacher to develop the IEP. The
IEP must be designed to meet the child's disability. It must have specifically designed
instructions, related services, assistive technology , and supplemental aids when needed. Several
factors the IEP must include are measurable annual goals, a statement of the services being
provided, a statement on how much the student will participate on state and district tests, a
positive behavior plan if needed, transition needs and services before age sixteen (Heward 2006).
Some exceptional children may need some accommodations which must be stated in the
IEP. For example, a child may struggle with reading therefore will need the special education
teacher to read it to them or there may be shorter questions. Some accommodations are
feedback, and positive reinforcements (Durheim 2015).The IEP team also regulates how much
time is spent in the general education classroom and special education classrooms. Parents must
consent to the placements of their child. A school district must send prior notice of IEP meetings,
adhere by the timeline, involve a student's parent(s), make sure the entire team is there and
notified properly, completing all required components in the IEP, and performing the IEP as it is
References
Aron, L., & Loprest, P. (2012). Disability and the education system. The Future of Children,
http://www.ezproxy.dsu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/151929
8175?accountid=27073
Durheim, M. (2015, October 30). A parent's guide to Section 504 in public schools. Retrieved
McBride, A. (2006, December). Brown v. Board of Education (1954). Retrieved November 11,
Yell, M. L., Katsiyannis, A., Ennis, R. P., Losinski, M., & Christle, C. A. (2016). Avoiding
Zilz, W. (2006). Manifestation determination: rulings of the courts. Education & The Law,