IDEA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the most comprehensive legislation covering the operations of educating students with disabilities thus far. It's purpose is to ensure a free and appropriate public education is available to all students whether or not they have disabilities throughout the nation. It also ensures that special education and related services are available to students with disabilities. IDEA is composed of four provisions that dictate the functions of different parts of education. These four provisions are: A. General Provisions B. Assistance for education of all children with disabilities C. infants and toddlers with disabilities D. National activities to improve education of children with disabilities
What are the 6 principles of IDEA?
FAPE: FAPE, or a free and appropriate education, consists of an education that is uniquely fitted to the needs of the student through instruction that is specially designed for the child, and the provision of services to meet his or her needs. The school is obligated to do all that is necessary to provide this to the child, and as this is the central principle these six principles, it is properly given when the rest of the principles are also properly given. Other important aspects of FAPE include that it is free, meaning that it must be given at the school’s expense, and that it must adequately meet the child’s needs and follow state and federal guidelines to be considered appropriate. It is also a public education, meaning that the education is provided in the public school setting unless appropriate services are not available/provided in the public schools for the student. Zero-Reject: Zero- Reject means that all children have a right to be educated. Public schools and schools that receive grants from the government are legally required to accept all students no matter what their abilities into the school. This involves efforts to find children with disabilities and who are eligible for special education. This also includes searching for children who many not have disabilities, but who are at risk for developing them. These efforts apply to infants and toddlers as well as children in the school system, and these efforts often occur in the form of advertised and publicized info sessions, posters, informational centers, and other means of public awareness. In the school system, students are regularly screened every year to assess for disabilities, and public awareness is raised to parents. There are also systems in place for identifying students with disabilities, such as response to intervention (Rti) or multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). These involve observing students in the general education classroom and taking proactive efforts to correct educational obstacles, and eventually resorting to a referral for special education if necessary. This process of identifying students who may have disabilities is known as child find. Nondiscriminatory Evaluation: This involves never assessing students in a way that is deemed unethical or unfair. An example of this includes assessing in student’s non-native language. This would be seen as discriminatory because the results of the evaluation would not be a true reflection of the student’s knowledge as he or she was not able to understand what was being asked. This principle also extends to students who are nonverbal, and to such would be given non-verbal assessments. Assessments given to students during evaluation, must always be able to accurately portray their knowledge. Assessments must also not contain content that a student would not be familiar with, like in the example of Larry P. v. Riles, African American students were being administered IQ tests that involved questions which were based on white-American culture, and these students were being inappropriately placed in special education because their IQ scores were inaccurate reflections of their true knowledge. In the state of California, it is still illegal to give someone of African descent an IQ test. Procedural Safeguards: These include the rules that the school is obligated to follow in ensuring that the rights of the parents of the student, are met in a way that fulfills federal and state requirements. These safeguards include 1) providing prior written notice in a timely manner whenever the student’s IEP will be discussed in a meeting, 2) ensuring that the parents have the opportunity to participate fully in the creation of their student’s IEP, 3) obtaining the parent’s informed consent prior to evaluating the student for disabilities or changing his or her placement, 4) providing parents the opportunity to examine and revise their child’s educational records at any time, 5) informing parents of their right to obtain an independent educational evaluation at the school’s expense if they disagree with the one the school provided, and 6) informing parents on how to initiate the process of dispute resolution, including taking the issue to the levels of mediation, an impartial hearing, or filing a suit until the issue is resolved IEP/Parental Participation: This includes allowing the parent, to be fully involved in the process of creating their child’s IEP as any other member of the IEP team. Parent input will be regarded with the same value, and more, than anything said by the other team members, because parents know their child better than anyone else. Parents have the legal right to participate in the decisions made at the meeting. Parent input is considered only one part of the puzzle and in put from other team members must be considered as well. Least Restrictive Environment: This involves students being educated in the environment that allows them to be as involved in the general education environment with their peers, as possible. For students in special education, the most inclusive environment would be the regular classroom with what is called “push-in” services, where a SPED teacher comes in and provides SPED services in a manner that is integrated into the regular classroom environment. A less-inclusive option, is a “pull-out” service which involves taking students out of the regular classroom for short periods in the day to work on specific skills. The most exclusive option would be complete education in a resource room or SPED classroom. The school is obligated to provide a placement with the necessary services and supports, in the most inclusive manner possible. There are many theories on what placement is most appropriate for students with disabilities. Be aware of the school district's policies in this regard.