Essay On Critical Elements Of IDEA

Congress intended that no child in need of special education will be excluded from receiving services - even those children with the most severe disabilities. Prior to IDEA, many parents remember being told by school administrators, "We are sorry, we just don't have a program for her. She is too severely disabled." The parents had no recourse. Now, all children with disabilities between the ages of three and 21 are entitled to educational services. Most states provide early intervention services to children between birth and three. (Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center, 2017)

The two important court rulings were the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1971 and Mills vs. The Board of Education of the District of Columbia in 1972 (ERIC Clearinghouse, 1998). These court decisions showed that “the responsibility of States and local school districts to educate individuals with disabilities is derived from the equal protection law of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”(ERIC Clearinghouse, 1998, n.p.)

Throughout the ages, people with disabilities have been hidden away at homes or institutions and were often not educated. This was common practice and as such, when the education system was designed, children with disabilities were not even considered. Then, starting soon after the civil rights movement in the 50’s, a series of lawsuits was brought against school boards and the federal government took notice. Then the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was passed and these children were finally allowed the education they deserved. As time went

The first key principle of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is that any student regardless of their disability is entitled to a free and appropriate public education. The term zero reject is commonly used to summarize this principle. An important component of zero reject is for school administrators to understand that the state is responsible for locating, identifying, and providing for students with disabilities from birth through age twenty-one. School officials play an important role in carrying out the state responsibility under the zero reject principle. This principle both implies and specifies the concept that no matter how severe the disability may seem, all children can learn, benefit from, and are entitled to a free and appropriate public education.

In the early 1970’s parents of students with disabilities went to federal court when their local school districts did not provide services to meet their children’s educational needs. In Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971), a Pennsylvania court ruled that all children, regardless of disability, have a basic right to an education under the Fourteenth Amendment. In Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972), a federal court ruled that the District of Columbia schools could not exclude children with disabilities from the public schools. Cases like this focused public attention on the issue of educating children with disabilities. The social and political pressure then resulted in landmark federal legislation to address the educational rights of these children.

Today’s society is different in its thinking when dealing with people with disabilities. There had to be many changes made in its labeling, and approach when dealing with people who may have physical/mental differences. The ostracize behavior that people were known to disturb in society has changed a great deal, due to the many federal laws that have been put in place to insure the well-being of people that have disabilities. In 1972, one very well-known case is Mill vs Board of Education of the District of Columbia this case address how the constituted rights of students were not being meet by not providing them with a public education.” Many disabled children had been excluded from public education prior to 1975,24 Congress, through the Act, sought initially to set up a process by which states would find children in need of educational services and bring them into the system”(Kotler, p.491,2014).

The IDEA or the Individuals with Education Improvement Act of 2004 was instituted by the Senate and House of Representatives in the United States Congress. This act is a precedent for persons with disabilities. Before this act, the needs of children with disabilities were being under met. In order to improve the state of where the educational system and related services were for children with disabilities, the federal government along with the local and state agencies has coordinated in order to provide appropriate education for children with special needs. A student with a disability has a federally protected right to a free and appropriate education and related services in a least restrictive environment. As a result of this act, each state is federally mandated to abide by the IDEA. Each state

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA) mandates 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”, and stipulates that “special classes, separate schools, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily” (IDEIA, P.L. 108-446 [Sec. 612 (a)(5)(A)], 2004). Likewise, the No Child Left

In 1971, parents of children with disabilities and the Public Interest Center of Law for Pennsylvania filed suit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The case was the first of it’s kind with a goal of attaining free and appropriate education for all children including those with disabilities. The reasoning behind the court case was that by not allowing students with disabilities admission in to public school, the public schools were in turn violating student’s 14th amendment right to due process and equal protection under the law (Public Interest Law Center).

The United States is home to hundreds of different types of peoples and cultures. We have always prided ourselves on our achievements as a nation, but now there is a problem. In the past century we have discovered that it is inhumane to hide away people that are different from us. It is an atrocity to deny one child an education just because he/she can't see, hear, speak, walk, or even think like 'normal' people. Now is the time for change and from this time, we are introduced to I.D.E.A. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was passed so that all children might be able to receive a free, appropriate public education. We have had the law for a

(USA Today, 2015) There are many different essential points, in the article named, “The History of Special Education Law” by Pete Wright, esq. In reading this article, there are several landmark court cases that were implemented for all disable students. There are three main landmark court cases that affected the outcome of special education students. The Supreme Court Brown v. Board of education (1954), established rights for African-American students have equal educational opportunities rights not to have segregated school in the public educational school system. In addition, the Pennsylvania Assn. For Retarded Children v. Common wealth of Pennsylvania(PARC) and Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia presented separation of students and parental participation of parents' involvement of discipline of students in the school system. Equally important are the laws that were established to enforced standard of court cases such as: “The Public Law 94-142: and The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975”, which constituted to

The idea of children with disabilities, whether they be mild or severe has been a very controversial and misunderstood topic. In the past inclusion has brought about huge changes for not only the students, but also the parents and families of these children, and staff at schools. Teachers and education professionals were the first to really feel the wrath and intimidation of this dramatic shift in education. There were several different factors that were coming about that made it very difficult for schools and teachers, the unorganized mandates were strict and didn’t allow much time for change. “President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) into law in 1975. Since the original passage of the EAHCA, the law has been amended four times and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (Conroy, Yell, Katsiyannis, & Collins, 2010, para.1).

Public Law 94-142: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), requires states to provide free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for every child regardless of disability. This federal law was the first to clearly define the rights of disabled children to receive special education services if their disability affects their educational performance. A parent of a special education student also has basic rights under IDEA including the right to have their child evaluated by the school district and to be included when the school district meets about the child or makes decisions about his or her education. If a child is identified as in need of special education

In 1975, congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The EHA act required that individuals with physical and mental disabilities, be provided with equal access to public education. The schools are “required to determine the appropriate placement for each child and must develop an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) that tailors the child's education to his individual needs. The child's parents are involved at all stages of the process” (United States Court Appeal). Before this Act, many handicapped children were left with one of two inappropriate approaches when it came to their educational needs. They were either excluded completely from having a public education or placed in general education classrooms with no assistance.

For most of our nation's history, children with special needs or disabilities were shunted aside. In spite of mandated education laws that had been in place since 1918, many students were denied education and