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SERVE > Topic Areas > Policy and Legislation > Federal Legislation > IDEA

 
Page Title: "Policy & Legislation"
 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

In 1970, public schools in the United States educated only one in five children with disabilities. At the same time, many states had laws that excluded children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or mentally retarded. As a consequence, more than 1 million children with disabilities were excluded entirely from the education system. Moreover, hundreds of thousands of disabled individuals were forced to live in state institutions for the mentally retarded or mentally ill that provided minimal food, clothing, and shelter.

In response, Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142) in 1975. The law had four stated purposes:

  • Assure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education which emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs;
  • Assure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents are protected;
  • Assist states and localities to provide for the education of all children with disabilities; and
  • Assess and assure the effectiveness of efforts to educate all children with disabilities.

  

The 1997 and 2004 reauthorizations of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act have been entitled the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA.

Results since 1975:

  • The majority of children with disabilities are now being educated in their neighborhood schools, in regular classrooms, and with their non-disabled peers.
  • High school graduation rates and employment rates among youth with disabilities have increased dramatically. For example, graduation rates increased by 14 percent from 1984 to 1997. Today, post-school employment rates for youth served under IDEA are twice those of older adults with similar disabilities who did not have the benefit of IDEA.
  • Post-secondary enrollments among individuals with disabilities receiving IDEA services have also sharply increased. For example, the percentage of college freshmen reporting disabilities has more than tripled since 1978.

IDEA Resources

2004 IDEA Congressional Conference Committee Report passed by the House and Senate on November 19, 2004.

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

Located at the U.S. Department of Education, OSERS supports programs that serve millions of children, youth, and adults with disabilities.

Council for Exceptional Children.

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted.

Center for Special Education Finance (CSEF).

Since 1992, the Center for Special Education Finance (CSEF) has addressed fiscal policy issues related to the delivery and support of special education services throughout the United States.

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in the U.S. Department of Education funds a variety of high-level research and knowledge dissemination projects that are making significant contributions in advancing knowledge related to disability issues.

Presidential Executive Order on IDEA.

When It's Your Own Child: A Report on Special Education from the Families Who Use It.

A Public Agenda study involving 510 families with disabled children in public schools (grades K–12).

President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education Report: A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families.

Under executive order #13227, President Bush established a President's Commission to examine special education and make recommendations regarding the reauthorization of IDEA.

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