Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Tiffany A Plummer
Professor. Sandi Steinhoff-Muller
Dakota State University

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Abstract

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has played a major role in
education since the 1975. It has had a big impact on students with disabilities, educators, and the
education system. IDEA has given students with disabilities more opportunities. The six
principles: zero reject, nondiscriminatory evaluation, free appropriate public education, least
restrictive environment, procedural safeguards, and parent participation and shared decision
making help to insure that students with disabilities are treated equally. IDEA has a positive
impact on many people, especially students with disabilities and their parents.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the current name of the 1975
public law 94-142, Education for all Handicapped Children's Act. (Heward, 2013). This law was
passed so that all children with disabilities would be treated equally as compared to all other
citizens. There are six major principles of IDEA these includes: zero reject, nondiscriminatory
evaluation, free appropriate public education, least restrictive environment, procedural
safeguards, and parent participation and shared decision making. These principles are what make
IDEA work so well. The principles allow a clear framework under which the law can easily be
enforced. IDEA positively impacts educators, the education system, and students with disabilities
in many different ways.
The zero reject principle states, Schools must educate all children with disabilities
regardless of the nature or severity of the disability (Heward, 2013). Heward states that IDEA
requires the child find system, which is each state's education agencys responsibility for
locating, identifying, and evaluating all children from birth to 21 with disabilities, or who are
suspected of having disabilities. Zero reject is necessary to make IDEA work. It impacts the
students with disabilities by making sure that students with disabilities are all educated and
getting the same education as children without disabilities. If the schools are able to educate
students without disabilities, the schools need to educate students with disabilities. For students
with disabilities, getting an education is important because the students need to learn to their
highest potential, and what better way to do that then to educate them. Educators become more
experienced by learning different and more efficient ways to teach children with disabilities
rather than just being able to teach students without disabilities. The zero reject principle has had
a large impacted on the education system because it requires all students to be educated, which

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

was a big change from when children with disabilities were not allowed education. The zero
reject principle has had a great and powerful impact on all since it means for children with
disabilities to be educated. The next principle provides for the correct and incorrect ways of
finding students who have disabilities.
The second principle is nondiscriminatory evaluation. This is for the district to decide if
the student has a disability, and what should be done to develop an appropriate individualized
education plan (IEP) (Jimnez, 2008). Heward states, Testing and evaluation procedures must
not discriminate based on race, culture, or native language (p. 17). The impacts this may have
on children is great, because children with and without disabilities will need to be classified in
the correct category, since the test will be fit to their race, culture, and native language. It will
also help the students with disabilities acquire an IEP, which will find them ways to learn to their
full potential. Through this educators will learn more about their students and why some of them
may not be doing as well in class. Educators will also have to take part in creating the IEPs that
will help them to teach the students with disabilities in their classrooms more effectively. The
education system will be helped because these evaluations will help to determine students with
disabilities, and figure out ways to help them learn as well as pass their state tests, and go on
their way to helping in the world. Nondiscriminatory evaluation is important in determining what
the child excels in and what the child needs help with. You can do this by giving the student an
ability test and an IQ test to determine an appropriate education for that student. The next
principle is about developing an appropriate education program for that student.
The third principle is free appropriate public education (FAPE) were educations is
provided at public expense, which is without cost to the children who are disableds, parents
(Heward, 2013). The education not only has to be free, but it has to be appropriate as well,

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

meaning the appropriate fit for the child. The Board of Education v. Rowley (1982) court case
helped define what an appropriate education was. It said that it could only result if all of the
IDEAs procedures are followed, and if the program provides the student with some educational
benefits (Jimnez, 2008). This impacts children with disabilities greatly, because the children are
getting an education that fits their needs at no cost to them. The students will also have to receive
an individualized education program (IEP). Heward states, The IEP specifies the childs present
levels of performance, identifies measurable 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 (pg. 17). Students will also need to receive assistive technology from
their school if it is necessary to help them learn. For example, a child who has trouble holding a
pencil correctly may require a pencil grip to write. The teachers now need to follow the IEP of
the student carefully as to not jeopardize the students learning, and to help the teacher, to teach
the student more appropriately, and how to care for the student as well. This impacts the
education system because every child has the opportunity to learn and children with disabilities
have a free and appropriate education as well. The education system also needs to make sure
every student with a disability has an IEP and any related services or technology necessary. The
education system will then have to figure out where the student should be placed. This is
explained in the next principle which helps decide where the student should be taught in the
school system.
The fourth principle is called the least restrictive environment (LRE). This requires that
schools educate students with disabilities with students without disabilities to the maximum
extent appropriate, and students with disabilities be removed to separate classes or schools only
when the nature or severity of their disability hinders their education in the general-education

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

classroom with aids and services (Heward 2013). Jimnez found that IDEA requires the IEP
team to justify any removal from the least restrictive environment during the IEP process; the
LRE is on its way toward ending segregation (2008, pg. 21). This will help the students with
disabilities be taught in the same environment as those students without disabilities, as a way to
end their segregation from the students without disabilities. The teachers now will need to learn
how to teach the students with disabilities in the general-education classroom so the students are
learning to their greatest extent possible. The education system is affected by the principle
because the system must determine what environment is the most appropriate for the student.
The education system must also keep the students information private. The next principle
explains how schools must keep the student's info private and what happens if parents disagree
with something.
The fifth principle is procedural safeguards, which is when schools must protect the
rights and interests of children with disabilities and their parents, as well as make all records
available to the parents (Heward, 2013). The parents must also give permission to all placement
decisions and evaluations for special education. If the parents disagree with the school on
evaluations or placement or something else, a meeting with the school to try to resolve it is
necessary. If parent and school cannot come to an agreement, the parent may request a dueprocess hearing (Heward, 2013). It was decided in the Schaffer v. Weast, 2005 that parents have
the burden of proof, meaning that parents have to provide evidence for the disagreement and the
school district does not have to (Jimnez, 2008). If the parents prevail, there must be
reimbursement for their attorneys fees. The school district must be allowed reasonable attorney
fees if the district prevails or if the district can claim that the parents are harassing, frivolous, and
unreasonable without foundation (Heward, 2013). The students in this principle are impacted

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

because their rights and interests are protected and available to them and their parents. The
educators are impacted in the way that if a parent disagrees with what the educators say, there
must be a meeting to discuss and try to correct. The education system is impacted because it is
there to protect the students, and because it needs to provide funding to either the district or
parent whichever one prevails. The parents play a big role in the life of the child, so the last
principle discusses how parents need to be involved in the school.
The final principle is parent participation and shared decision making. Heward shares that
schools must collaborate with parents and students with disabilities in the planning and
implementation of special education and related services (2013, pg. 20). Jimnez states,
parents can waive the three-year evaluation and excuse IEP team members from meetings, place
student in private school, make changes to IEP with the district without the IEP team (2008, pg.
24). The students will get what is appropriate for them in school with the parents help and
participation. The educators will have to work with the parents if the educators are a part of the
IEP team. The Education system will have to make sure that the parents desires are met. The
system can also go through a due-process hearing if parents do not allow evaluation, but the
system cannot if the parents do not consent to services after the evaluation. Parents need to be a
part of the decision making.
IDEAs six principals have a major impact on the students with disabilities, the educators,
and the education system. The first through the fourth principle states that children with
disabilities should be in school, evaluated properly, receive an IEP, free public education, and be
in the least restrictive environment. The fifth and sixth principal state that the childs information
is safe, and the parents need to be involved and have a right to disagree with evaluations. IDEA
has changed the lives of children with disabilities, educators, and the education system for the

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

better, since the system is fulfilling their duty to educate all students. Children with disabilities,
educators, the education system, and even parents have to learn how IDEA works and makes
sure that the education system is following all the rules and regulations. If everything is done
correctly, IDEA will have a positive impact on everyone and make life better for children with
disabilities.

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References

Heward, W. (2013). Exceptional children: An introduction to special education (Tenth ed.).

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
Jimenez, T. (2008). Education for all: Critical issues in the education of children and youth with
disabilities. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass.