The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), originally the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, was signed into law on November 29, 1975, by Gerald Ford.
Prior to the passage of this law, a 1972 Congressional investigation found that millions of students with disabilities in the U.S. were not being educated at all. And most states had laws permitting public schools to turn away students who were deaf or blind or who had emotional or intellectual disabilities. (Yes, this is what happened when “education was left up to the states!”)
People who are not immersed in special education commonly ask, “Don’t ‘good’ public schools naturally and automatically provide necessary educational support to all children with disabilities?” Based on the number of cases I have–and the number I have to turn away at times because I don’t always have the bandwidth to help–no, most districts, even those considered to be “excellent” districts, do not “automatically” provide FAPE (a Free and Appropriate Public Education) to every child with disabilities, and parents often need to rely heavily on IDEA guardrails.
Is IDEA perfect? No. Is it easy for most parents to learn to navigate IDEA on their own? No. But without IDEA? School districts would have no accountability for educating our most vulnerable students–many of whom have great potential, provided they receive an appropriate education. As a result of IDEA, I have been able to witness first-hand over 1,000 success stories–including seeing children with dyslexia learn to read well, students with emotional disabilities learn to successfully navigate big emotions, children with autism learn to make social connections, children with communication disorders learn to speak, students with ADHD learn to organize themselves more independently, students who were so anxious they could not attend school for months or even years not only successfully to be able to attend school but also to successfully graduate from high school and college, and so much more. Why? A big reason: parents who had high expectations for their children and who learned to trust their own instincts about what was and was not working for their children.
In celebration of IDEA’s 50th anniversary, I am sharing my favorite part of IDEA–“Findings and Purposes.” (20 U.S.C. § 1400)
. . . Congress finds the following:
(1) Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.
(2) Before the date of enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (Public Law 94-142), the educational needs of millions of children with disabilities were not being fully met because–
(A) the children did not receive appropriate educational services;
(B) the children were excluded entirely from the public school system and from being educated with their peers;
(C) undiagnosed disabilities prevented the children from having a successful educational experience; or
(D) a lack of adequate resources within the public school system forced families to find services outside the public school system.
(3) Since the enactment and implementation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, this title has been successful in ensuring children with disabilities and the families of such children access to a free appropriate public education and in improving educational results for children with disabilities.
(4) However, the implementation of this title has been impeded by low expectations, and an insufficient focus on applying replicable research on proven methods of teaching and learning for children with disabilities.
(5) Almost 30 years of research and experience has demonstrated that the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by-
(A) having high expectations for such children and ensuring their access to the general education curriculum in the regular classroom, to the maximum extent possible, in order to-
(i) meet developmental goals and, to the maximum extent possible, the challenging expectations that have been established for all children; and
(ii) be prepared to lead productive and independent adult lives, to the maximum extent possible;
(B) strengthening the role and responsibility of parents and ensuring that families of such children have meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children at school and at home;
(C) coordinating this title with other local, educational service agency, State, and Federal school improvement efforts, including improvement efforts under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, in order to ensure that such children benefit from such efforts and that special education can become a service for such children rather than a place where such children are sent;
(D) providing appropriate special education and related services, and aids and supports in the regular classroom, to such children, whenever appropriate;
(E) supporting high-quality, intensive preservice preparation and professional development for all personnel who work with children with disabilities in order to ensure that such personnel have the skills and knowledge necessary to improve the academic achievement and functional performance of children with disabilities, including the use of scientifically based instructional practices, to the maximum extent possible;
(F) providing incentives for whole-school approaches, scientifically based early reading programs, positive behavioral interventions and supports, and early intervening services to reduce the need to label children as disabled in order to address the learning and behavioral needs of such children. . .
Purposes. The purposes of this title are–
(1)
(A) to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living;1
(B) to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected; and
(C) to assist States, localities, educational service agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the education of all children with disabilities;
(2) to assist States in the implementation of a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families;
(3) to ensure that educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve educational results for children with disabilities by supporting system improvement activities; coordinated research and personnel preparation; coordinated technical assistance, dissemination, and support; and technology development and media services; and
(4) to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of, efforts to educate children with disabilities.
1Tip for parents: memorize this. This is the purpose of special education–to prepare students for further education, employment, and independent living. Many times school staff will say, “It matters only what the student can do at school,” but this is untrue. Students are going to spend most of their lives OUTSIDE of the school building. So why are we preparing them to be successful only within the school setting? The purpose. Of special education. Is. To prepare students. For further education. Employment. And independent living. Regardless of your child’s age, is their IEP designed to do that?
