1.IDEA - Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
Originally called the Education of Handicapped Children's Act
when voted into law in 1975 the Act was re-authorized in 1991
under the new name. This is a federal law mandating federal, state
and local school district responsibilities for the education of
all children with disabilities. The law established the means by
which children are located, referred, evaluated and provided
appropriate educational programs. The law currently provides for
the identification of children in the various disability areas
including learning impairment, hearing impairment and deafness,
speech language impairment, visual impairment, learning
disabilities, emotional and behavioral disabilities, developmental
delays, multi-handicapping conditions, orthopedic impairments,
health impairments, autism, and traumatic brain injuries. Children
must be found to be eligible under state established criteria
under one of these categories of disability.
Key to IDEA is the fact that children are entitled to a FAPE,
that is a free, appropriate education at public expense. Children
are entitled to be provided this education in the least
restrictive environment (LRE). Parents are insured inclusion in
the process through input into the evaluation process as members
of the Evaluation & Planning and as members of the IEP Team
(Individual Education Plan). Parents' rights under IEDA provide
for confidentiality of student information, and a structure for
having their disagreements with the school addressed. This law
applies to eligible students from birth until the twenty-second
birthday.
See
the complete IDEA '97 Final Regulations
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2. FERPA - Family Education Rights
and Privacy Act (also referred to as the Buckley
Amendment)
This is a federal law that assures for the confidentiality of
all student information and records, and parent rights to access
these records. This law applies to all students whether disabled
or not, and has strict requirements regarding access to and use of
personally identifiable information about the student.
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3. Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
This federal law applies to all institutions receiving federal
funds, and assures that all handicapped persons regardless of age
will have appropriate access to programs which receive these
funds. Handicap is defined much more broadly under Section 504
than under IDEA and applies to any condition that has a
substantial impact on a major life activity such as walking,
talking, learning and breathing. Local districts must provide for
a referral and evaluation process through a multi-disciplinary
team. School must provide appropriate accommodations and services
at local expense to protect, and address the needs of eligible
students. No federal or state funds are available to assist the
local districts in meeting their obligations under this act. This
law assures for the civil rights of disabled persons within
applicable programs.
For Section 504, a person is considered 'Handicapped' if he or
she:
1.Has a mental or physical impairment which substantially
limits one or more of such person's major life activities;
2.Has a record of such impairment; or
3.Is regarded as having such impairment.
Also see a comparison between 504
and special ed (IDEA)
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4. ADA -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This is a very broad law expanding significantly on the
previous education (IDEA) and civil rights (504) laws and applies
to both the public and private sector. This law is a civil rights
law assuring access to all areas of community life for persons
with disabilities.