Prior to 1975 children with any handicap did not have to be served in public school. If your child couldn’t walk up and down the stairs of the school building or had a mental or intellectual impairment, the school could just turn you away. Hence, thousands of children with various disabilities were either institutionalized or kept at home and never educated.

This initial act is now known as IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and has greatly impacted and improved the lives of children with disabilities over the last 30 years.

IDEA is a complex law, but the purpose of it is to govern how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to children with disabilities. It addresses the educational needs of children from birth to age 21.

IDEA differs from the two other major disability rights laws (ADA and Rehabilitation Act) in two important ways:
1. it is a funded mandate (sadly not fully funded). That means that states and public agencies who comply with this law receive funds in order to comply with this law.
2. It is not required. States can choose not to participate in IDEA. By doing so they greatly cut their federal educational funding. But they are also not required to provide the educational rights provided within this law.

It is also important to remember that IDEA deals only with public school education, from birth to age 21. It does not apply to private schools, private day care centers or to private or public universities or post-secondary schools.

IDEA guarantees that all students qualifying as a “child with a disability” are to receive a “free, appropriate public education” (FAPE) that is individualized to the specific child through an IEP and is designed to meet the child’s unique needs and provide educational benefit. This FAPE is to be provided in the “least restrictive environment” that will meet the child’s needs.

Part B of IDEA provides for the IEP, defines related services, requires public schools to identify disabilities, and guarantees procedural safeguards.

Part C of IDEA requires early intervention services for infants and toddlers.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, parents of children with disabilities fought long and hard just to be allowed to take their children to public school. But the struggles of providing FAPE in the least restrictive environment continue. IDEA has been amended many times. The pendulum swings back and forth on whether this law is more child-centered and parent-friendly or whether it is more school-friendly. The recent reauthorization, in 2004, stripped away some of the parental power by allowing schools to collect legal fees from parents or their legal representation if any due process case is found frivolous. The changes within this law fluctuate depending on who has the stronger lobby during reauthorization.


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