IDEA ESSAY

IDEA Essay
Megan Vaughn
Dakota State University

Abstract

IDEA ESSAY

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act is an act that was
started in order to provide an education for students with disabilities. Many students
before 1975 who had disabilities were placed in institutions where they were not
educated, but simply accommodated. Now, we strive to provide an appropriate
education for students with disabilities. There are six major principles of IDEA. They
are as follows: (1) zero reject; (2) nondiscriminatory evaluation; (3) free appropriate
public education; (4) least restrictive environment; (5) procedural safeguards; (6)
parent participation and shared decision making (book). Each of these principles
has an important part in protecting the education of students with disabilities. The
IDEA law has been around for thirty nine years but has had many names and many
additions to the law.

IDEA ESSAY

3
IDEA Essay

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is an act that was
started in order to provide an education for students with disabilities. According to
the National Center for Learning Disabilities website, IDEA is the nations federal
special education law that ensures public schools serve the educational needs to
students with disabilities. It has gone through many names and many changes.
Because of IDEA, in 2011 more than 6 million students received special education
services at school (2014). There are six major principles of IDEA. They are (1) zero
reject; (2) nondiscriminatory evaluation; (3) free appropriate public education; (4)
least restrictive environment; (5) procedural safeguards; (6) parent participation
and shared decision making (Heward, 2013). The IDEA law has been around for
thirty nine years (2014).
History
Before the IDEA law took effect, many children who were school-age were
either at their home or were institutionalized. They were not allowed to attend
school. At one point, in 1967, there were 200,000 people in state institutions. These
institutions did not educate the students. They were given food, clothing, and
shelter, but many of these places only gave small amounts of food and clothing. In
1970, the schools in America only educated one in five students with disabilities. In
many states laws excluded students with disabilities from attending school
(History). In 1975 a law called the All Handicapped Children Act passed. This law
would become the building blocks to IDEA. The All Handicapped Children Act helped
to provide education for every student with special needs. It eventually turned into
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, also known as IDEA. Today it is known
as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. With each phase of

IDEA ESSAY

this law, it is still focused on providing an appropriate education to every student,

including those with disabilities (Heward, 2013).

Major Principles of IDEA

Zero Reject
Every student with a disability must be educated. No child is rejected from a
school system, no matter how severe a students disability is. School districts must
provide special education services to any students with a disability who is between
the age of six and seventeen. If a school district provides these services to students
who are between the ages of three to five and eighteen to twenty-one, that school
district must offer those services to everyone with a disability in that district within
that age group (Heward, 2013).
Timothy W. v. Rochester. This is a court case that started with Timothy W.
and set precedent for many other students with severe disabilities. Timothy W. was
a student with a severe cognitive disability along with other disabilities. The
Rochester, New Hampshire school district decided that he could not be helped by
their school district. The student was told he could not attend because he was not
capable of benefitting from education. They based these results off of a test of his
ability to benefit from these services. His parents did not agree with this and
thought that under IDEA he should receive special care. The federal district court
said that only children with handicaps that can benefit from special education are
eligible for the services provided. The court of appeals said that the district court
was wrong in allowing a test to see if a child would benefit from special education
services. They said that the school district has to provide a special education

IDEA ESSAY

program to anyone who qualifies, not just for the students who are capable of
benefiting from a program (Clearinghouse of North Carolina School of Law).
Nondiscriminatory Evaluation
When providing an evaluation of a student, the student must undergo
multifactored and unbiased evaluations. The district cannot administer one test to a
student and say that student needs special education services. These tests also
cannot discriminate. According to Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special
Education, testing and evaluation procedures must not discriminate on the basis of
race, culture, or native language. Evaluation tests must be given in a students
native language and must be not be based on one culture or race. There has to be
more than one test given or it is not considered multifactored (Heward, 2013).
Larry P. v. Riles. African American students in California had been wrongly
placed in special education and had been told they had a cognitive disability based
on an Intelligence Quotient (I.Q.) test. This test had been determined culturally
biased and therefore should not reflect these African American students I.Q. The
court ruled in the favor of the students and said that the schools had gone against
both state and federal law by providing a test that was culturally biased (Larry P. v.
Riles).
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
Every student is provided with a free and appropriate public education. It
does not matter how severe the students disability is; the student will receive an
education. This means that the public will pay for the educational needs of that
student. Also, each student who is determined to need special services will have an
Individualized Education Program (IEP). This is a list of specific goals and services
that will be provided to that student (Heward, 2013).

IDEA ESSAY

Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley. The plaintiff in this

court case said that students with disabilities were supposed to be pushed to the
maximum of their potential by the schools programs. The plaintiff thought that the
school should do much more than what was being provided and the trial court
agreed. The Court of Appeals also held up this decision. The Supreme Court then
overturned this decision. That decision was overturned because it is the job of the
school to provide a student with special needs with an appropriate education and
not a high standard. The court said that Congress had more modest goals in mind.
The district was only to provide a basic floor of opportunity. They do not have to
provide the best, only an appropriate education (Johnson, 2003).

Least Restrictive Environment

This part of the law says that the students need to be in the general
education classroom the maximum amount of time possible. The students with
disabilities are only supposed to be removed from the general education classroom
when the student cannot receive an appropriate education within the classroom
even with supplementary aids and services. To make sure that the school is finding
the best way to accommodate the learning of a student, the school is required to
provide a continuum of alternative placements so if one does not work the student
can move on to the next (Heward, 2013).
Sacramento School District v. Rachel H. Rachel Holland had been
diagnosed with a cognitive disability. The school was taking her out of her classes
and put her in a special education classroom. The parents did not like this idea and
put her in a private school where she could partake in full inclusion within the
general education classroom. The Hollands did not want their daughter to be moved

IDEA ESSAY

back and forth six times a day. They wanted her in the regular classroom and even
proved that she learned better in the regular classroom. The court ruled that the
school district had not tried to the fullest extent to implement full inclusion in the
general education classroom for Rachel (2010).
Procedural Safeguards
In order to protect both rights and the interests of the children and their
families, schools have to follow very extensive sets of procedures. In order for any
evaluations to take place, the parents must give consent before any evaluations
begin. All records of a student with disabilities must be confidential, but the parents
have access to these files at any time. If an evaluation is performed and the
parents do not agree with the results, the school district must pay for an individual
evaluation at their request. If the parents and school district do not agree with
placement, evaluation, identification or FAPE, the parents have the right to request
a due process hearing or possibly discuss the issues through mediation. This is what
allows the parents to go to court if they do not agree with what the school district is
doing with their children (Heward, 2013).
Parent Participation and Shared Decision Making
The school cannot do anything without the parents consent. A teacher
cannot even evaluate a student unless the parent has given permission to do so.
The parents are to be a part of all of the meetings and decision making that
involves their child (Heward, 2013).
Conclusion
Every student is unique and every student has different needs. This is what
IDEA is trying to get across to all of the different school districts. Although each
child may not receive the best education, every special education student is to

IDEA ESSAY

receive a free and appropriate education. Parents are to be involved in the decision
making of their childs educational goals and learning. The six major principles of
IDEA are something each educator need to know and practice every day.

References
Clearinghouse of North Carolina School of Law. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2014.
Heward, W. (2013). Chapter 1: The Purpose and Promise of Special Education. In
Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education (10th ed., p. 562). Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
History: Twenty-Five Years of Progress in Educating Children with Disabilities through
IDEA. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2014.

IDEA ESSAY

Johnson, S. (2003, January 1). Reexaming Rowley: A New Focus in Special Education
Law. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
Larry P. v. Riles. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2014.
Sacramento v. Rachel H. (2010, June 29). Retrieved November 24, 2014.
What Is IDEA? | Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (2014, January 1).
Retrieved November 24, 2014.