We are currently remodeling

Skip Navigation

Main Navigation Bar (Deactivated)

Public Policy

The goal of the Disability Policy Collaboration is to impact national public policy for people with developmental disabilities, including those with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability, and their friends, families and loved ones.

Go back to top

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Fact Sheet

The Arc and UCP Disability Policy Collaboration Masthead

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT


Background

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, Public Law 105-17) is the Federal law mandating 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 prepare them for employment, independent living and a productive life. The law was first enacted in 1975 and has gone through a series of reauthorizations, the last in 1997. Parts C and D were authorized until September 30, 2003, and must be reauthorized. Part B is permanently authorized. However, both the Bush Administration and key Members of Congress are proposing major changes to all parts of IDEA during this reauthorization.

IDEA has four major parts: Part A General Provisions; Part B authorizes a state formula grant program and includes provisions regarding eligibility, evaluations, individualized education programs and procedural safeguards. Part B also authorizes a preschool grants program (Section 619). Part C authorizes the early intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities; and Part D authorizes a series of discretionary programs, including state improvement grants, research, personnel preparation, parent training and information centers, technical assistance and dissemination, and technology development.

The IDEA Amendments of 1997 made significant changes to the law intended to improve results for children with disabilities. However, six years later many school systems are still hard pressed to implement the revised law. Too many parents of students with disabilities continue to struggle with school systems to secure an appropriate education for their child. Programs under IDEA have never received adequate Federal funding to support state and local schools systems and there is a growing crisis in the shortage of qualified special education and related services personnel at all educational levels. The law has also never been consistently or effectively monitored nor enforced.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Education Task Force, including The Arc and UCP, has developed overarching principles to guide the reauthorization process.

Action Taken by Congress and the Administration

The President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education delivered its recommendations for improving special education and reforming IDEA in the summer of 2002. The Commission focused on professional development, accountability, finance, assessment, research, and systems administration. The Commission’s final report received lukewarm responses from many fronts, especially from the special education advocacy community. The Bush Administration then released a set of guiding principles for the reauthorization of IDEA based on the Commission’s recommendations. The principles recommend a major rewrite of the law with the following stated goals: align IDEA with the No Child Left Behind Act by ensuring accountability; provide more flexibility to states and local school systems; provide more options for parents; and put more emphasis on doing what works to improve student achievement. The principles do not provide details about how to achieve the desired goals.

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1350, the Improving Education Results for Children with Disabilities Act, on April 30, 2003 by a vote of 251-171. Although minimally bipartisan, the legislation drew the most votes against a special education bill in the almost 30 year history of IDEA. UCP and The Arc, along with practically every other national disability organization, strongly oppose this bill. H.R. 1350 contains numerous onerous provisions that will strip students with disabilities and their parents of important rights. It creates a difficult maze of burdens and options for parents who may choose to pursue due process. Amazingly, the bill does not require school authorities to take a child’s disability into consideration when a child violates school code, a provision, which is bound to foster much litigation.

The full Senate voted 95 to 3 on May 13, 2005, in support of S. 1248, its bill to reauthorize IDEA. The Senate failed by four votes to establish mandatory full funding for the IDEA State Grant Program. It did adopt a 15 state pilot program on paperwork reduction that protects children’s civil rights under IDEA and a provision that would require a parent’s attorney to pay court ordered attorney’s fees to the school system if the case is deemed to be frivolous. S. 1248 is a substantial improvement over the House bill, but still has several problematic provisions. Specific concerns include limitations of due process protections and the removal of short-term objectives in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Huge differences between the House and Senate bills now need to be resolved. Due to the lack of trust between the majority and minority parties about roles and relationships between House/Senate conferees appointed to resolve differences, Senate Democrats are insisting that any compromise bill developed by conferees be agreed to by the leadership of both parties prior to a final floor vote. Failing this arrangement, the Senate Democrats will not name conferees. Six weeks have passed since the Senate cleared S. 1248. No progress has been made to reach a deal that provides the Senate Democrats with the necessary assurances to move to appoint conferees. Given the number of problematic provisions, the short time frame remaining in this session of Congress and the escalation of political tension in the Congress, it remains to be seen if the Congress can complete action on the bill this year.

UCP's and The Arc’s Recommendations

The Congress should:

  • Continue to improve and not weaken IDEA;
  • Oppose amendments to IDEA related to attorney fees limits and paperwork reduction that would weaken protections for children and families;
  • Support a conferenced bill that:
    • Fully maintains the civil rights of children with disabilities and their families;
    • Does not cease educational services for any children, including children with disabilities;
    • Provides the necessary supports, including positive behavior interventions, to assure a good learning environment in the classroom;
    • Ensures that parents maintain an effective voice in making decisions at every level about the education of their children with disabilities;
    • Works to decrease and eventually eliminate the critical shortage of qualified educational personnel;
  • Fully fund Part B and increase funding for Parts C and D of IDEA; and
  • Provide adequate resources to support state and Federal monitoring and enforcement procedures.

Relevant Committees

House Committee on Education and the Workforce
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
House and Senate Appropriations Committees

For more information, contact The Arc and UCP Disability Policy Collaboration at 202-783-2229.

Revised 7/2004