Unpacking the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)
Diana Williams
Experienced Education Leader & Special Education Consultant | Enhancing Learning for All Students | Empowering Through Consultation
The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) ensures students throughout the country have access to a free appropriate public education with special education and related services support. IDEA is the renaming of the original 1975 All Handicapped Children Act which served to support districts to meet the needs of students with disabilities and ensure that all students were getting the education that they deserved. Before this, some students with disabilities were often not prioritized or considered unable to learn. IDEA also works to ensure that students can receive education and services within their own community schools instead of needing to attend separate and more restrictive schools.?
There are six foundational principles that make up the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Ensures that money is not a barrier to ensuring that students receive the education that they are entitled to, without consideration of their zip code or socio-economic status. Students with disabilities have the right to attend any public school and receive the academic instruction and related services needed to be successful, at no cost to their family. Further, students are entitled to services from preschool (age 3) through high school (or to age 21) as mandated on their individualized education plan which is written to meet their unique needs. This principle refers to traditional public and public charter schools throughout the country. It also protects students that are expelled or suspended, to ensure that they continue to receive instruction and services.
Appropriate Evaluation
Before a student can receive special education services, they must be evaluated in all areas of suspected disability. This allows the child study team to evaluate their cognitive ability and performance across many areas. Examples of evaluations include psychoeducational evaluations, occupational evaluations, and speech evaluations. Each evaluation provides specific information that is coupled with data collected from the school to determine if a student has a disability and thus qualifies for special education. While a school can suggest a student for special education referral, the student’s family must provide consent for evaluations (and can revoke it at any time.) After consent is received, the school must have the evaluations completed within 60 days, at no cost to the family. If the family does not agree with the results of the evaluations, they can request an independent evaluator conduct another evaluation at no cost to them. After being deemed eligible, students are often re-evaluated, or re-tested, every three years, or if a change is suspected to increase or decrease the intensity of special education services. To learn more about the referral process, be sure to check out our prior blog.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
After the evaluations are completed and a disability is found, the Child Study Team writes an Individualized Education Program/Plan that outlines the services and support that a student will receive. The IEP is created with the evaluations’ findings in mind, in addition to the students academic performance, and includes SMART goals for students for each of the services that they are found eligible for. Each year, the CST team and the family come together to review the student’s progress to determine if more or less services are necessary. It is important that family concerns and participation is valued and incorporated. The IEP should not be a copied and pasted document, rather it should be written for the individual student that it meant to serve. After the IEP is completed and the parent signs, it should be shared with all of the adults that teach the student to begin to implement the program.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
The IDEA requires that “...To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled.” This means that even if a student is placed within a self-contained classroom, that they have opportunities to engage with their general education peers as much as possible. Further, before making the decision to move a student to a highly restrictive environment, such as a small classroom of 6 students, we have made extra effort to provide them with support within general education and inclusion classrooms. The ultimate goal would be for a student to be taught alongside their general education peers while simultaneously receiving the accommodations and modifications they need. Students should also not be excluded from school-wide events, activities, electives, or other common community moments throughout the school day.
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Parent and Student Participation in Decision Making
Parents have a voice! Parents have a voice! Parents have a voice! There should be NO decisions made unilaterally without the consent and collaboration of the student’s family. This is to ensure that we are upholding a partnership and providing meaningful ways for them to be involved in the special education decision making process. Parents should be included in the development of the IEP, educational placement decisions, data collected and reviewed, and transition planning for post-high school. These are the specific moments parents should be involved in, but there are many other ways to encourage partnership and collaboration with parents. Also, as students get older, they should also be included in the decisions that affect them. Not only will it be an opportunity for them to understand how they learn best, but it will also teach them how to advocate for themselves as they move into adulthood.
Procedural Safeguards
This is the official guide that ensures that the rights of students with disabilities and their families are protected. In sum, families are entitled to advanced notice for scheduled special education meetings so that they can participate. If they are unable to make it, they can also request to reschedule the date. Since the pandemic, families have also been able to participate by phone or video call, although in-person meetings are often preferred. The procedural safeguards also entitle families to accessing and reviewing their student records, which includes but is not limited to attendance, discipline, report cards, and progress resorts. Finally, the safeguards outline the options and steps for when they disagree with a school's actions which include mediation, formal complaints, and due process hearings.
The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is a pivotal law that is important for all special educators and parents to know and understand.?
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