Laws and regulations in the field of special education are very important and ever-changing. They lay out the foundations for the proper procedures for special education services to abide by, and provide important rights for children and their parents. I feel as an educator it is my job to know the laws and regulations of special education and to stay up-to-date on changes within the system. I truly believe the saying "power comes from knowledge". General understanding of the law is the basis for becoming the best advocate for your child or student with specific disabilities. On this page, I have introduced 5 important laws and regulations in special eduation.
Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004
The Individuals with Disabilities Act is a federal law ensuing services to all children throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.
IDEA 2004 includes many significant changes from the previous authorization of this act in 1997. The reauthorized law focuses on “ accountability and improved outcomes” by bringing IDEA 2004 into play with No Child Left Behind Act. IDEA 2004 requires schools to use “proven methods of teaching and learning” based on “replicable research”.
IDEA 2004 is divided into five main parts:
Part A – General Provisions
Part B – Assistance for Education of All Children with Disabilities
Part C – Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
Part D – National Activities to Improve Education of Children with Disabilities Part E - National Center for Special Education Research
The most important section in IDEA is Section 1400. Section 1400 describes the Findings and Purposes of the law. The main purposes are: ...to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepares them for furthur education, employment and independent living" and "to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected..." (20 U. S. C. § 1400 (d)(1)
Section 504 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. It is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This law ensures that each child with a disability has equal access to an education (along with accommodations and modifications). Section 504 is different from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act because it does not require the school to provide an IEP that is designed to “meet the child’s unique needs and provides the child with education benefits”. There are less procedural safeguards under 504 than IDEA. Section 504 has very specific requirements that each school division must follow. Some of the general requirements are: >Recipients of federal monies must provide FAPE
>Must provide regular or special education >Local education agency must appoint a “504 Coordinator” >Local education agency must develop and implement Section 504 policies and procedures >Specific testing required for students with disabilities
*Parents are not required members of Section 504, there are no maximum number of participants, and there is no guidance on the level of knowledge required by members. Listed below are 3 links with full information on Section 504.
The purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments. (20 U.S.C. § 6301) NCLB was formally known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This act required that states set annual objectives for increasing student achievement with the goal of ensuring that all children have an opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.
*Strategies to accomplish the purpose of the law include many key requirements. Some of those requirements include annual proficiency tests in grades 3-8, a highly qualified teacher in every classroom, research-based instruction, increase parental rights, school choice, and public reporting of progress by schools, school districts and states.
No Child Left Behind seeks to close the “achievement gap” by holding states local school districts accountable for improving the academic achievement of all children.
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted by Congress in 1974 to protect the privacy of student educational records. FERPA deals with educational records, privacy and confidentiality, parent access to educational records, parent amendment of records, and destruction of records. The purpose of FERPA is to protect the privacy of parents and students. This Act applies to all agencies and institutions that receive federal funds (elementary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities). This law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.
Educational records as defined by FERPA are, records that directly relate to a student and that are maintained by an educational agency or institution or by a party acting for the agency or institution.
FERPA gives students the following rights regarding educational records:
-The right to access education records kept by the school;
-The right to demand education records be disclosed only with student consent;
-The right to amend educational records;
-The right to file complaints against the school for disclosing education records in violation of FERPA
*A child’s education records transfer to the student when he or she reaches age 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.
In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This was the nation’s first comprehensive civil rights law addressing the needs of people with disabilities, prohibiting discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, communications, telecommunications, and governmental activities. The overall purpose of the ADA is to make our society more accessible to people with disabilities. The ADA is divided into the following five titles:
TITLE I – EMPLOYMENT
TITLE II –PUBLIC SERVICES
TITLE III –PUBLIC ACCOMODATIONS
TITLE IV – TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TITLE V - MISCELLANEOUS
The ADA defines an individual with a disability as:
1. He or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life activities;
2. He or she has a record of such an impairment; or
3. He or she is regarded as having such an impairment