1

IDEA
Tawny Sherman
Intro Persons Exceptionalities
October 21, 2015
 2

Abstract

In 1975, the All Handicapped Childrens Act was created which gave the first rights to

students with disabilities. Before this law though, children with disabilities did not go to school.

Teachers, districts, and many people did not believe children with disabilities were able to be

educated. After many years, there were six major principles that are used to help determine

where to place a child with a disability, what the student needed help working on, what goals had

to be met, and how the student are going to succeed in life. Congress has fixed this law five

times so far. This law reflects societys concern about treating children and people with

disabilities with the same rights and privileges as all the other citizens.
 3

In 1975, the All Handicapped Childrens Act was created. This law was created by the

congress. The main reason for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) had been

to give children with disabilities the same free and appropriate education, just like other children.

This law was called the All Handicapped Childrens Act. Over the years the name has changed,

from IDEA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). Even

though the name of the act has changed over the years, the main points still remain. The goals of

Idea are to protect the rights of children whom have disabilities, and to give parents a voice in

their childs education. There are six major principles that came with IDEA. The principles are:

zero reject, nondiscriminatory identification and Evaluation, Free and appropriate education,

least restrictive environment, due process safeguards, and lastly shared decision making.

The first principle of IDEA is zero reject. This principle states that every school must

educate all children with disabilities. This requirement to provide special education to all

students with disabilities is absolute between the ages of six to seventeen. A school district can

never turn a child down. No matter the case, if a child has a contagious disease, have an

inappropriate behavior caused by their disability, or if the school thinks the child is too disabled

to be taught anything, the child still has to be taught by a school district. This rule applies at all

facilities such as: public schools, private schools, state operated programs, psychiatric

organizations, and lastly institutions for those with disabilities.

According to Antonis Katsiyannis, a professor of special education at Clemson

University in Clemson, South Carolina, on November 27, 1989, the high court declined to hear

the Rochester, New Hampshire, school district's appeal of a judicial decision ordering it to

provide educational services for a severely disabled child. Rochester prevailed in the lower court,

where a district court judge agreed that Timothy was not capable of benefitting from an
 4

education. A higher court took the case and told the school district that there was no choice but

to educate this child. Raymond K. Yeagley was the super intendant at that time. "I told my

school board, 'You're going to lose that case,'" said Yeagley. According to news accounts, the

school district spent about fifteen thousand dollars a year trying to help this boy. He was

educated until he was twenty-two years old, and shortly after school, he passed away.

The second major principle of IDEA is the Nondiscriminatory Evaluation. This principle

says that schools must use a nonbiased, multifactored method to determine if a student has a

disability. The tests cannot discriminate on race, culture, or language, although the tests must be

given in a childs most known language. This test cannot determine if a child has a disability,

because it takes multiples tests and data to show that. All of these come from the protection in

evaluation procedures. Parents must be informed of any testing that takes place. In 1979, a court

cases called Larry P. v Riles took place. This case was an unfair test that was given to African

American kids in California. The court decided the test was unfair and biased. The Larry P ban

on IQ testing was vacated in 1994 by the US court of appeals.

The third major principle of IDEA is the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

This principle states that the education received by a child must be covered at publics expense.

Which basically states that the childs parents do not have to cover the payment of any

equipment or special needs. Before any of the needs can be met, an Individualized Evaluation

Program (IEP) must be developed, and the services that will be assisted to the child must be in

the IEP. The IEP shows where the student is at, where the student is trying to get to, and what

related services are needed to get to the childs goals. IDEA requires that schools must provide

any services that are needed to the child to benefit from special education. Some services may be
 5

a special bus, school nurse, special equipment, or a physical therapist. The main idea about this

topic is that the education does not have to be the best, but it has to be the most appropriate.

The fourth major principle of IDEA is the Least Restrictive Environment. Basically, what

this principal states, is that children with disabilities can only be removed from a general

education classroom on the circumstances that the child cannot receive an appropriate education

in the general education classroom. To ensure that every child that has a learning disability is

educated in the least restrictive environment school districts have to provide placement tests, and

service alternatives.

Next is the fifth major principle. This principle of IDEA is called Procedural Safeguards.

This means schools have to follow a set of procedures to safeguard and protect the rights of the

children and their families. No matter what the school district thinks, if the parents do not agree,

nothing can happen. Because of this principle, parents have to initial and be okay with

everything that is going to happen with their child. When the parents and the school disagrees

completely, the parents may request a due process hearing. States have to offer parents an

opportunity to fix the problem through mediation by a third party before having the due process.

Lastly, the sixth principle is the easiest to understand. This principle is called Parent

Participation and Shared Decision Making. What this principle means, is that parents and the

child that this is revolving around, get a say in the IEP goals, related service needs, and the

placement decisions. If a parent does not agree or want their child doing something specific, the

school cannot legally make changes.

There are six major principles that came with IDEA. The principles are: zero Reject,

Nondiscriminatory Identification and Evaluation, Free and Appropriate Education, Least

Restrictive Environment, Due Process Safeguards, and lastly Shared Decision Making. There are
 6

many rules and difficult laws to abide by, but that is the only way to do what is most appropriate

for the child. The six principles are laws that have to be followed. IDEA, and IDEIAs laws have

come a long way since 1975, when the first law was created.
 7

Works Cited

Bradley, Megan E. "IDEA/IDEIA: The Rights Your Child Has as One with a Disability."

IDEA/IDEIA: The Rights Your Child Has as One with a Disability. Frostburg State

University, 2008. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Hersh, Carie Little. "Rights to a Free Appropriate Public Education." Special Education and the

Law: A Guide for Practitioners (2007): 24-53. Free Appropriate Public Education.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2007. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Lee, Andrew. "How IDEA Protects You and Your Child." Understod. Understood.Ord, 2014-

2015. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Samuels, Christina. "Landmark Special Ed. Case Confirming 'Zero Reject' Rule Marks 25

Years." Education Week. N.p., 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Sawyer, J. E. "Nondiscriminatory Evaluation in Special Education (Sawyer & Aitken)."

Nondiscriminatory Evaluation in Special Education (Sawyer & Aitken). JoanAitken.org,

2006. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.