IDEA

The public law in 1975 had put in place the IDEA act which means “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This act was originally called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This amendment has been redone over 5 times since 1975. IDEA has affected every school in every state and town in the USA. This is because of the roles for regular and special education teachers, administrations, and families. This law helps treat the people with any type of disability to be a full citizen in this country and to have the same privileges as the rest of the citizens. So you have an idea about what a disability is here are the eleven that are known. Mental retardation, learning disabilities, emotional & behavioral disorders, communication (speech & language) disorders, autism, hearing impairments, physical & health impairments, traumatic brain injury, sever & multiple disabilities, visual impairments, giftedness & special talents. Here are also some placements these children with disabilities can be. Regular classroom, resource room, separate classroom, separate school, residential facility, homebound/hospital.

The purpose of IDEA in 2004 is to have a purpose for those who need this amendment. There is six major principle of IDEA. The first is known as zero reject. This means schools must educate all children with disabilities. No child with a disability may be excluded from a public education. This goes for children ages 6 to 17 years old. The next one I am going to talk about is nondiscriminatory identification and evaluation. This means schools must not be biased and are suppose to use many methods of evaluations to see if a child has a disability and if so how special education can be used for that child. You have to proceed in a few tests to find out if the individuals are able to special education. The third principle I will talk about it FAPE. Many people have heard of this because it involves every school in the country. FAPE means “free, appropriate public education. This is to help meet there needs as a student and a child. This also means that this education is provided as a public expense and parents do not have to pay for it. Any child with a disability also has to have an IEP which is and individualized education program. This it to help meet each need the staff and parents think the child needs. This will have annual goals and short term objectives in the IEP. Also the IEP will have the related services that will be provided the help the individual to benefit them. This will include going to a resource room, speech therapy, physical therapy and many other things that the child might require. The next and fourth principle is LRE, which means Least Restrictive Environment. EDEA says that a student with some type of disability needs to be educated with other children that do not have a disability. This is to help the child be around a normal environment so they can feel comfortable. To make sure every child with a disability has a chance for LRE; school districts must provide a continuum of placement and alternatives. The fifth pare do IDEA is Due Process Safeguard. This is to protect any right of the child and their parents. The school must have the parents consent to do any evaluations and any placement decisions for the child. Also all records should be confidential. The Last one is known as the Parent and Student Participation and Shared Decision Making. This means schools must come together with parents and students with disabilities to implement and design special education services that meet the needs of the individual. The parents wishes should be considered when the IEP is written, and placement and needs are evaluated.

I believe the Individual with Disabilities Education Act is a great thing for children with disabilities. These children still need there education and because of this amendment they are able to get it no matter where they go without being pushed away or told no from a school. It’s great to know that these children are getting what they need.