The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed by congress in 1975 and went into effect in 1978. There were some significant revisions made in 1997 and again in 2005. The IDEA was intended to help children with certain disabilities receive a “free and appropriate public education.” Please notice the word FREE because this means any parent may have a child evaluated and tested at the schools expense. If a child is determined to have a qualifying disability the child will receive appropriate services without extra cost to the family.
The latest changes to the IDEA was signed into law in December 2004 with most of the provisions taking effect on July 1, 2005. At that time IDEA was changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IEDIA).
Some of the new language related to determining whether a child has a specific learning disability has been changed and now states, “…a local education agency shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a sever discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning.”
Early Intervention, (EI) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) are available to children with disabilities from birth to the age of five. Parents do not have to wait until a child is in school to receive special services. These services are available to help insure children with disabilities come into public schools with the best possible chance of success.
The 2005 bill passed by congress authorizes school districts to use up to 15 percent of IDElA funds for supportive services to help students who have not yet been identified with disabilities but who require some additional academic and behavioral supports in order to be successful in the general education system.
The main focus of the IDEA is the Individual Education Plan (IEP) which is the system for deciding how the public school will meet school aged children’s educational needs. An IEP is generally set up during a meeting and includes the parents, school representatives, and when appropriate the student. This team works together to develop a plan to meet the best interest of the child. Parents may ask for IEP meetings for their children and the schools are required to provide a written IEP plan to the parents or a written reason why special services are not being provided for the child.
In the past behavioral and emotional issues were rarely included in IEP’s and often these issues were not directly address. Some families believed a child with behavior issues should be helped more and that this child would be free from major consequences should a child violate a code of student conduct. This was not true before the recent changes. Now a clear process and standard has been created to identify any behavioral issues that directly result from the child’s disabilities and a method for discipline has been established so that families and schools can address behavior issues and understand the role the school has in dealing with behavioral issues.
Wrightslaw offers excellent online information and can give a more in-depth look at the recent changes in the IDEA law than has been discussed here. You might also look at the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.
These services are available for all children identified with a disability that may effect their education. Parents who adopt special needs children through the United States Foster Care system are generally selected based on information they will be the BEST advocate for the child’s needs. These services are just one more way Special Needs Adoptive parents have to help meet the needs of their children.
Parents of special needs children may find more helpful information in the Special Needs Forum at Families.com or on the Special Needs Blogs.
photo credits: 
(no restrictions)
Special Needs and Adoption-Related Terms:
A | B | C | D | E-F | G-H-I | J-K-L | M | N-O | P | Q-R | S | T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z
For more information about parenting special needs children you might want to visit the Families.com Special Needs Blog and the Mental Health Blog. Or visit my personal website.