Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act

Alignment With No Child Left Behind

The reauthorization of IDEA in 2004 revised the statute to align with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act . NCLB allows financial incentives to states who improve their special education services and services for all students. States who do not improve must refund these incentives to the federal government, allow parents choice of schools for their children, and abide by other provisions. Some states are still reluctant to educate students who are eligible for services under IDEA and seek remedies through the courts. However, IDEA and NCLB are still the laws of the land to date.

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a piece of Americanlegislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with a Free Appropriate Public Education that is tailored to their individual needs. IDEA was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act from 1975 to 1990. In 1990, the United States Congress reauthorized EHA and changed the title to IDEA. Overall, the goal of IDEA is to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as those students who do not have a disability.

Principle 3 Individualized Education Program

IEP was incorporated in IDEA to ensure that every child with disability can fully and easily access FAPE. This is accomplished with an IEP, written by an approved IEP team, that draws upon the appropriate evaluation of the child so as to meet the childâs unique educational needs. This requires the IEP to include information on the childâs current educational level or performance, benchmarking objectives, annual goals, and services and supplementary aids that the child should receive. It should also offer comprehensive explanations of why a child might not be participating in the general classroom.

An IEP will set the course for the studentâs special education, progress, and transition from one stage to another. The IEP also takes into consideration the strengths of each child, the concerns of the parents and the child, as well as specific academic, developmental, and functional needs of the child. The Principle of IEP stipulates:

• Both the parent and child must be fully and meaningfully involved in the development of the IEP, and any further revision that may be required from time to time.
• The IEP must be designed in such a way that meaningful progress in educational, developmental, and functional achievement is offered to the student.
• The IEP must be structured with measurable goals and objectives.

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The History And Purpose Of Idea

IDEA was first passed in 1975. At that time, it was called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act.

Before IDEA, it was common for states to place kids with disabilities in separate schools. Or in separate classrooms away from their peers. Their education was often poor and underfunded. Academic expectations were low. Kids with learning and thinking differences typically didnt get the help they needed to thrive in school.

Congress passed IDEA to change this. Around the same time, other laws also passed to improve lives of people with disabilities. In 1973, Congress passed Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which barred disability discrimination in programs that get federal funding. Then in 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, to bar discrimination in other areas of society.

Over the years, Congress has updated these laws several times. IDEAs last update was in 2004.

What Is Section 619

The Preschool Grants ProgramPart B, Section 619 of IDEAis a federal grant program intended to help states ensure that all preschool-aged children ages 35 with disabilities receive free appropriate special education and related services in their least restrictive environment.

The goal of preschool special education services is to enable young children to be active and successful participants in home, school, and community settings resulting in positive outcomes for children and their families.

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Working At An Administrative Level To Improve School Functioning Around Children With Special Needs

Some health care providers may work at an administrative level, as in a federal, state, or local agency, to ensure that local EI agencies or schools are well equipped to be responsive to the needs of students with special needs, including the need for related services , nursing, medication, and any special modified diets or nutritional needs. Each state has an interagency coordinating council for EI and a state advisory panel for special education . In addition to serving on the council, another opportunity is providing public comment during meetings.

Functional Relationship Between Eha The Rehabilitation Act And The Equal Protection Clause

The Supreme Court decided that EHA would be the exclusive remedy for disabled students asserting their right to equal access to public education in Smith v. Robinson, 468 U.S. 992 . The petitioner, Tommy Smith, was an eight-year-old student who had . The school district in originally agreed to subsidize Tommy’s education by placing him in a program for special needs children at the Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital. The school district later decided to remove Tommy from that program and send him to the Rhode Island Division of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals, which was severely understaffed and underfunded. This transfer would have effectively terminated Tommy’s public education. Tommy’s parents appealed the school district’s decision through the administrative process created by EAHCA. Once the administrative process was exhausted, the Smiths sought judicial review pursuant to the EAHCA, § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

In the face of this Supreme Court decision, the United States Congress passed an amendment to the EHA which explicitly overruled the Supreme Court’s decision in two ways: The amended law allowed parents to collect attorney’s fees upon winning a case against the school. The amended law permitted parents to bring a lawsuit under either EHA, § 504, or § 1983 once the administrative remedies had been exhausted.

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Free Appropriate Public Education

Guaranteed by the IDEA, Free Appropriate Public Education is defined as “special education and related services that:

• A) are provided at the public’s expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge
• B) meet the standards of the State educational agency
• C) include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary school education in the State involved and
• D) are provided in conformity with the individualized education program under section 614. )”

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.”

The IDEA includes requirements that schools provide each disabled student an education that:

• is designed to meet the unique needs of that one student
• provides “access to the general curriculum to meet the challenging expectations established for all children”
• is provided in accordance with the Individualized Education Plan as defined in 1414.
• results in educational benefit to the child.

A History Of The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act , also known as the EHA, in 1975 to support states and localities in protecting the rights of, meeting the individual needs of, and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families. This landmark laws name changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, in a 1990 reauthorization. The law was last reauthorized in 2004, and the department has periodically issued new or revised regulations to address the implementation and interpretation of the IDEA.

Before EHA, many children were denied access to education and opportunities to learn. In 1970, U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, and many states had laws excluding certain students, including children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or had an intellectual disability.

Since the passage of EHA in 1975, significant progress has been made toward meeting major national goals for developing and implementing effective programs and services for early intervention, special education, and related services. The U.S. has progressed from excluding nearly 1.8 million children with disabilities from public schools prior to EHA implementation to providing more than 7.5 million children with disabilities with special education and related services designed to meet their individual needs in the 2020-21 school year.

Conditions Before EHA and IDEA

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Forest Grove School District V Ta

The case of Forest Grove School District v. T.A., 129 S.Ct. 2484 addressed the issue of whether the parents of a student who has never received special education services from a public school district are potentially eligible for reimbursement of private school tuition for that student under the IDEA. The Supreme Court held that parents of disabled children can seek reimbursement for private education expenses regardless whether their child had previously received special-education services from a public school. By a vote of six to three, the Court held that the IDEA authorizes reimbursement whenever a public school fails to make a free appropriate public education available to a disabled child.

Working Within An Ei Program School Or School

Health care providers may be key personnel at an EI program or school, whether they are there because of a mandatory requirement, part of a school-based health center, or consultant for the school system. These personnel may be part of IFSP or IEP discussions, depending on the roles delineated by the position. Some physicians may be part of a community school system, a partnership between the school and other community resources . In this role, the physician can assist in the resolution of health issues affecting performance of the school system. Further information about the role of physicians in schools can be found in the AAP policy statements The Role of the School Physician and School-Based Health Centers and Pediatric Practice.

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The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act

The 2004 reauthorization of IDEA initiated significant modifications in special education policy , marked by a change in title that underscores it as an improvement. These sweeping changes have brought the law into alignment with the reforms advanced in the general education law, entitled No Child Left Behind, and shifted the focus of special education from process to outcomes.

No Child Left Behind was passed in 2002 to improve the level of basic achievement of the nations children in general education, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, by requiring stronger accountability for results, highly qualified teachers in every classroom, and the use of proven educational practices. This law requires schools to show a measure of annual yearly progress based on childrens aggregated scores on state-level tests. Those schools that do not meet their annual yearly progress criterion are required to provide supplemental services to children, including free tutoring, after-school assistance, and summer school. If a school consistently fails to meet its annual yearly progress goals, parents are entitled to transfer their children to better performing schools, including alternative charter schools. No Child Left Behind also spells out specific criteria for high-qualified teachers and requires that teachers use educational practices that have been proven effective. These same themes are echoed in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act .

Students With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders

The IDEA does not represent attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as a distinct category . For that reason, children with ADHD who do not qualify for eligibility for special education are served under Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The IDEA is very specific while 504 is broad and subject to interpretation. Consequently, many administrators provide services for ADHD students who may not be eligible for special education services under the IDEA. Because of the condition of the students with ADHD, they require medication. Students with ADHD fall under the following classification:

As it stands, ADHD is considered neurological, chronic, long term, and acutely acquired. The primary trait of this condition is an inability to attend beyond what is typical for peers of comparable age. Significant impulsivity also may be a characteristic. The ADHD is not situational in that it affects children and adults who have it across all settings. However, the symptoms may be most conspicuous at school because of the structure and expectations there. Surprisingly, students with ADHD are more likely to have a productive deficit rather than an acquisition deficit. That is, they take information in and sometimes surprise their teachers by what they know. The greatest difficulty often lies in the production, that is, in completing their work. Apparently ADHD is not caused by environmental situations or other disabilities, but may be present with them.

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The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act For Children With Special Educational Needs

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they do not have a financial relationship relevant to this article to disclose.

Pediatrics

Paul H. Lipkin, Jeffrey Okamoto, the COUNCIL ON CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES and COUNCIL ON SCHOOL HEALTH, Kenneth W. Norwood, Richard C. Adams, Timothy J. Brei, Robert T. Burke, Beth Ellen Davis, Sandra L. Friedman, Amy J. Houtrow, Susan L. Hyman, Dennis Z. Kuo, Garey H. Noritz, Renee M. Turchi, Nancy A. Murphy, Mandy Allison, Richard Ancona, Elliott Attisha, Cheryl De Pinto, Breena Holmes, Chris Kjolhede, Marc Lerner, Mark Minier, Adrienne Weiss-Harrison, Thomas Young The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act for Children With Special Educational Needs. Pediatrics December 2015 136 : e1650e1662. 10.1542/peds.2015-3409

Initial Referral To Ei Or Special Education

When a parent or health care provider discovers developmental problems or a disability, linkage to EI or special education will lead to receipt of special services, which may occur at birth for a child with trisomy 21, when symptoms and signs of autism manifest in toddlers to preschool-aged children, or when symptoms of psychosis become apparent later in childhood or adolescence. A follow-up clinic visit or phone call can help to check that a family has connected their child with a disability to the EI program or school system.

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What Is The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the federal law that supports special education and related service programming for children and youth with disabilities. It was originally known as the Education of Handicapped Children Act, passed in 1975. In 1990, amendments to the law were passed, effectively changing the name to IDEA. In 1997 and again in 2004, additional amendments were passed to ensure equal access to education.

This federal legislation is designed to ensure that children with disabilities be granted a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment . IDEA does the following:

• Ensures that all children with an identified disability receive special education and related services to address their individual needs.
• Ensures that children with disabilities be prepared for employment and independent living.
• Ensures that the rights of children with disabilities and their families are protected under the law.
• Assesses and ensures the efforts of institutions providing services to persons with disabilities.
• Provides assistance to states, localities, federal agencies, and educational service agencies in providing for the education of children with disabilities.

For more information about IDEA, consult IDEAthe Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, published by the Center for Parent Information and Resources.

Transition From School To Adulthood

The transition from school to adulthood is a critical transition that requires individualized goals and supports for each student. Parents may overestimate or underestimate a childs ability, causing inappropriate programming for special education and related services. The health care provider can assist in the formal planning and bridge-building needed for successful completion. Health care providers, school personnel, and parents or guardians are advised to begin discussion of this transition at 14 to 16 years of age and to continue communication during the transition process. One cannot overstate the importance of knowing the youth and knowing what the family understands about their childs potential. The best transitions to adulthood occur when IEPs fit students capabilities and are based on their interests, priorities, and hopes and dreams for the future.

Ideally, the educational system should prepare youth with disabilities for competitive employment, if not postsecondary education. A vocational rehabilitation expert should be a collaborative member of the students team if community college or university settings do not match the students aptitude. Problems with supports toward employment have been explored in several analyses., These include issues with using an adult vocational system for youth with disabilities. In addition, families are worried about Supplemental Security Income and other benefits being lost when their teenager is employed.

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Qualification For Benefits Pursuant To The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

The IDEA is a federal law which requires that a child with a serious emotional disturbance is entitled to public school special education and related services if the emotional disturbance adversely affects the childs educational performance . Emotional disturbance is defined as a condition exhibiting nappropriate types of behaviorunder normal circumstances for a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects childs educational performance ). This seems to open the door for claims that a childs behavioral addiction is a proper basis to obtain IDEA protection. However, like some of the other areas of law discussed, there is a lack of precedent granting protection for behavioral addiction. Nevertheless, IDEA claims based on students behavioral addictions can be expected. For example, is a high school student suffering from an online gaming addiction entitled to IDEA protection that precludes enrollment of the student in any course involving required use of the Internet or a computer?

G.M. Mukuria, F.E. Obiakor, in, 2010