Effects of IDEA on education.

1
Reeba Thompson

Components of IDEA:
Explain how the components of IDEA have impacted the American education system, educators roles
within that system, and the lives of individuals with disabilities.

IDEA:
Effects of IDEA on education.

Reeba Thompson

Special Education 100, Dakota State University

Effects of IDEA on education. 2

Reeba Thompson
Education in todays society is a lot different today than it used to be. Not only is that true
for children without disabilities, but children with disabilities as well. A huge part of that is due
to the Individuals with Disabilities Act. This paper will take a more detailed look at the
Individuals with Disabilities Act and how it has changed education with its six principles. The
six principles include zero reject, nondiscriminatory evaluation, free appropriate public
education, least restrictive environment, procedural safeguards, and parental participation. First,
however, what is the Individuals with Disabilities Act?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, better known as IDEA is a law that
completely changed the face of education when Congress passed it in 1975. Since then, IDEA
has been reauthorized and amended five different times. The most recent reauthorization
occurred in 2004 which changed the title to The Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004. IDEA plays a huge part in determining what goes on in a school day
at every school in the country. It has also altered the roles and responsibilities of general and
special educators as well as administrators, parents, and most importantly the students with
disabilities. There are six major principles of IDEA that have played a major role in altering
education.
The first principle is zero reject. With zero reject all schools are required to educate every
child, even those with disabilities. A child with disabilities may not be denied a free public
education, regardless of the severity of the disability. (Heward 2009, pg.16) The requirement to
make available special education to all students with disabilities is mandatory for the ages of six
through seventeen. States who offer schooling to children ages three through five and eighteen
through twenty-one without disabilities are also required to offer schooling for children that age
with disabilities. Each state is also required to have a child find system which finds, pinpoints,

Effects of IDEA on education. 3

Reeba Thompson
and assesses all children with disabilities or those believed to have a disability, from birth to age
twenty-one, living in that state. The second principle of IDEA is nondiscriminatory evaluation.
The nondiscriminatory evaluation principle declares that schools must use nonbiased,
multifactored methods of evaluation to determine whether a child has a disability and, if so,
whether the child needs specially designed instruction to benefit from education. (Heward 2009,
pg.17) Assessment and evaluation processes cannot victimize on the basis of race, culture, or
native language. All assessments are required to be overseen in the students native language, and
identification and placement results must not be completed on the basis of a solitary test score.
These stipulations of IDEA are recognized as protection in evaluation procedures. (Heward 2009,
pg.17) The next principle if IDEA is free appropriate public education.
According to the free appropriate public education principle, all students with disabilities,
regardless of the nature or severity of their disability, must be given a free appropriate public
education (FAPE). This education must be offered at public cost, that is, devoid of cost to the
students parents. An individualized education program or IEP must be developed and
implemented to meet the unique needs of each student with a disability. (Heward2009, pg.17) An
IEP indicates the students current levels of execution, names measurable yearly goals, and
defines the particular special education that will be made available to assist the student reach
those goals and benefit in the long run. The fourth principle is known as least restrictive
environment.
The least restrictive environment principle in IDEA calls for schools to teach students
with disabilities together with children devoid of disabilities to the most degree appropriate and
that students with disabilities be moved to different classes or schools merely when the quality or
severity of their disabilities is such that they are unable to obtain an appropriate education in a

Effects of IDEA on education. 4

Reeba Thompson
general education classroom. IDEA creates a presumption in favor of inclusion in the general
education classroom by requiring that students IEP contain a justification and explanation of the
extent, if any, to which the student will not participate with nondisabled peers in the general
academic curriculum, extracurricular activities, and other nonacademic activities, such as lunch
or recess (Heward2009, pg.19) To guarantee that each child with a disability is educated in the
least restrictive environment appropriate for his or her essentials, school districts must make
available a variety of other placements and service alternatives such as a resource room.
The fifth principle is procedural safeguards. Schools must follow an extensive set of
procedures to safeguard and protect the rights and interests of children with disabilities and their
parents. (Heward2009, pg.19) Parental agreement must be attained for first and all following
assessments and placement choices concerning special education. Schools must keep discretion
of all records relating to a child with disabilities and make those records accessible to the
parents. When the parents of a child with disabilities disagree with the outcomes of an
assessment done by the school, they can take an independent assessment at public cost. When the
school and parents disagree on the identification evaluation, placement, or provision of a FAPE
and related services for the child, the parents may request a due process hearing. (Heward2009,
pg. 19) States must also give parents a chance to settle the problem through negotiation by a third
party before conducting a due process hearing. Most clashes between school districts and parents
are solved without a due process hearing, however.
Parent participation and shared decision making is the last principle and that requires
schools to collaborate with parents and students with disabilities in the planning and
implementation of special education and related services. (Heward2009, pg.20) The parents and

Effects of IDEA on education. 5

Reeba Thompson
when appropriate, the students input and wishes must be considered in determining IEP goals,
related service needs, and placement decisions. (Heward2009, pg.20)
In conclusion, the Individuals with Disabilities Act or IDEA is a law that was passed by
Congress in 1975. In it are six principles that have transformed education since then. Zero reject
is the first and ensures that no child, with or without a disability, may be denied a public
education. Nondiscriminatory evaluation is the second principle and it states that no evaluation
method may be biased when determining if a child has a disability. The third principle, free
appropriate public education, says that any student, with or without a disability, is entitled to a
free appropriate public education. Least restrictive environment, the fourth principle, notes that a
student with a disability must be taught where it is most appropriate for that student. The sixth
and final principle, parent participation, states that parent permission must be given for all
activities involving a student. Overall, IDEA has made a huge impact on education in the last
thirty-eight years. As society develops even more and becomes more technologically advanced, it
will be interesting to see how education changes even more.

Effects of IDEA on education. 6

Reeba Thompson
Heward, William L. Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education. Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, 2009.