INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT 1

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Lindsey M. Pate

Dakota State University

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT 2

Abstract

This essay describes the importance of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

and educators roles within that. Using real life stories, the essay connects a six-year-old

Hispanic boy, Hector, and a man named Allan, to the realization of how important IDEA is to

some students. The author lists the six principles of IDEA and what they mean to a child and

their parents who may be interested or going through the process.

Keywords: IDEA, educator, disabilities

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

What is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? Does my child need to apply for

that? How do we know? These are questions sometime asked by parents who find out their child

may or may not have a disability. Meet Hector, the article Archived: 25 Year History of the IDEA

(2007) describes him as a charming, outgoing, very active, six-year-old Hispanic child who

lives with his family and attends his neighborhood school in Arizona. When Hector was in 1st

grade he participated in some behavioral programs to address his sudden mood swings and

frequent arguments and fights both during class and on the playground (Archived, 2007).

Hectors teacher worked with him and taught him specific social skills to improve his

competence in such areas as answering questions, controlling his anger, and getting along with

others (Archived, 2007). Hector worked in a small group of 3 students and was able to observe

firsthand other children who behaved properly at school (Archived, 2007). At the end of

Hectors school year, his behaviors had completely stopped. He has learned to keep his temper

down and is working hard to complete his homework every day. In 1975, Congress enacted the

Education for All Handicapped Childrens Act that has now been amended to Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law supports Hector and all other infants, toddlers,

children and youth with disabilities and their families (Archived, 2007). IDEA is described by

Heward and Orlansky (1992) as

A profound influence on what takes place in every school building in the country and

has changed the roles and responsibilities of general and special educators, school

administrators, parents and students with disabilities in the educational process. The law

reflects societys concern about treating people with disabilities as full citizens with the

same rights and privileges all other citizens enjoy.

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IDEA contains six principles that explain the regulations for a child to be protected under

this law. The first principle is zero reject. Schools must educate all children with disabilities

(Heward, Orlansky, 1992). Regardless of how severe an individuals disability is, they must be

provided an education. The second principle, nondiscriminatory evaluation, is schools must be

unbiased and use multiple tests or evaluations to determine whether a child has a disability and,

if so, whether the child needs specifically designed instruction to benefit from education

(Heward, Orlansky, 1992). All evaluations must be given to the student in their native language

to be fair and non-discriminatory. These requirements of IDEA are called protection in

evaluation procedures (Heward, Orlansky, 1992). Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is

IDEAs third principle; meaning the education of a child with a disability must be free and at the

publics expense. To make sure the child is receiving an appropriate education, an individualized

education program (IEP) must be created. 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, Orlansky, 1992). Number four out of six principles is least restrictive

environment which means IDEA requires schools to teach students with disabilities and students

without together to the maximum extent appropriate (Heward, Orlansky, 1992). Students with

disabilities may be removed from the general education classroom but only when the nature or

severity of their disabilities is such that they cannot receive an appropriate education in a general

education classroom with supplementary needs and services (Heward, Orlansky, 1992). Next,

procedural safeguards requires schools to follow an extensive set (Heward, Orlansky, 1992) of

actions to protect the right and interests of children with disabilities and their parents (Heward,

Orlansky, 1992). The most important piece is parental consent and involvement without the
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childs parents approving nothing can be done to help. This leads into the last principle, parent

participation and shared decision making. The school district and parents must work together in

planning and executing the special education services. Parent and student wishes must be

considered in determining IEP goals, related-service needs, and placement decisions (Heward,

Orlansky, 1992). These principles have generally remained unchanged since 1975.

Before 1975, children like Hector would have been thrown into an institution. For

example in 1967, state institutions were homes for almost 200,000 persons with significant

disabilities. Many of these restrictive settings provided only minimal food, clothing, and shelter.

Too often, persons with disabilities were merely accommodated rather than assessed, educated,

and rehabilitated (Archived, 2007). A man named Allan knows exactly what is it like to be

assessed improperly. Allan was left on the steps of a state institution for people with mental

retardation in the late 1940s. By age 35, he had become blind and was frequently observed

sitting in a corner of the room, slapping his heavily callused face as he rocked back and forth

humming to himself (Archived, 2007). Allan was finally assessed for the first time in 1970 and

his examiners found he is of average intelligence. Further review of his records revealed that by

observing fellow residents for the institution he had learned self-injurious behavior that caused

his total loss of vision (Archived, 2007). Allan had been assumed to have a disability his entire

life until the beginning processes of IDEA came about. Properly assessing and examining

children is crucial for educators.

Educators, school districts, and parents play an important role in the process of a child

receiving help from IDEA. Most importantly, the process of creating an IEP so the child can

learn and grow in their own way. The general educator must be willing to communicate

effectively and work within a team context (STAFF DEVELOPMENT, 2006). He/she should
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know how to observe special education students and record their behaviors objectively in order

to help IEP teams track these students progress, and also describe them to the team and parents

(STAFF DEVELOPMENT, 2006). This educator must be open to try new approaches and

teaching methods with students with have disabilities. With teachers and educators playing such

an extensive and crucial role in a childs life, it makes future teachers, like myself, wonder how

challenging our classrooms will be one day.

Without the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IEPs, the hard work, and extra

time that is put into this process, students with disabilities would still be in an institution not

getting the help they need. Children and adults like Hector and Allan would be in a completely

different life without their education and the help of IDEA. What would a world be like without

education?
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References

Archived: 25 Year History of the IDEA. (2007, July 19). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html

Heward, W. L., & Orlansky, M. D. (1992). Exceptional children: An introductory survey of

special education (10th ed.). New York: Merrill.

Lee, A. M. (2014, April 11). How IDEA Protects You and Your Child. Retrieved April 19, 2016,

from https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-

rights/how-idea-protects-you-and-your-child

STAFF DEVELOPMENT in SPECIAL EDUCATION - Naset. (2006). Retrieved April 19,

2016, from

http://www.naset.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Pro_Development/Roles_Responsibilities_SPED_T

eacher.pdf

The IEP Cycle: The General Educator's Role. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2016, from

https://www.teachervision.com/special-education/resource/5582.html