About Me

My photo
Hello Everyone! My name is Shelly Weaver-Magruder. I am a Special Education Administrator and have held various positions in my twenty years in public education. I believe that all students can learn and that all students should have equal access to education. I am married to a wonderful husband, we have two beautiful, smart daughters, and the most amazing granddaughter. I have a purebred English Bulldog who is the love of my life. I hope to raise awareness of the downward spiral that Students with Disabilities are experiencing and implore our educational stakeholders, school districts, and state agencies to ensure that this student population receives equal access to education in their chosen learning environment. This educational crisis is affecting educators globally, and the need for further research on effective best practices, and updated policy guidance is paramount if we are to meet the individual educational needs of this most vulnerable population.

History of IDEA

Explaining the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

To understand the battles being fought today for children with disabilities, it is important to understand the history and background associated with public schools and special education (Wrightslaw, 2021). 

Statutes

Statutes are laws passed by federal, state, and local legislatures. The original federal special education law was The Education of All Handicapped Children Act. When Congress reauthorized the law in 2004, they renamed it The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (2021).

Congress first publishes a law as an Act in the Statutes at large, then organizes laws by subject in the United States Code (U. S. C. ) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is printed in the Statutes at large and in the United States Code. The numbering system used to categorize an Act in the Statutes at large is different from the system used in the United States Code.

The United States Code has fifty subject classifications called Titles. For example, Title 20 is about education, Title 26 is the Internal Revenue Code, and Title 42 is about public health and welfare. In each title, laws are indexed and assigned section numbers. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is cited as 20 U. S. C. § 1400, et seq. Statutes published in the Statutes at Large have sections (section 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) and may have subsections (i.e., (a), (b), (c), (d)).

The Act begins with Section 600. When the Act is published in the United States Code (U. S. C.), the numbers change. IDEA 2004 is in Title 20 of the United States Code, beginning with Section 1400. For example, Definitions are in Section 1401 of the United States Code (cited as 20 U. S. C. § 1401) and are in Section 602 of the Act. 

Other important federal education statutes are:

• The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education    Act of 1965 (ESEA) which begins at 20 U. S. C. § 6301 et seq.

• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which begins at 29 U. S. C. §794 et seq.

• The Family Educational and Rights and Privacy Act which begins at 20 U. S. C. § 1232 et seq.

• The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act which begins at 42 U. S. C. § 11431 et seq.

States must ensure that their statutes and regulations are consistent with the United States Code (U. S. C.) and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). While state statutes and regulations may provide more rights than federal laws, they cannot provide fewer rights than guaranteed by federal law. If state law or regulation is in direct conflict with federal law, the federal law controls, pursuant to the Supremacy Clause of the U. S. Constitution (2021). 

 Regulations

The U. S. Department of Education develops and publishes the federal special education regulations. Regulations clarify and explain the United States Code. A regulation must be consistent with the United States Code and has the same force of law. Before the Department publishes the regulations, the agency must publish the proposed regulations in the Federal Register (F. R.) and solicit comments from citizens about the proposed regulations. The special education regulations are published in Volume 34, Part 300 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The legal citation for the regulations is 34 CFR § 300 (2021).

 Congress enacted Public Law 94-142 in 1975. The law, originally known as the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, is now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004. The law requires public schools to provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to children with disabilities at no cost to the child’s parent. After the law was enacted, courts began to issue different rulings about this term. As more cases were litigated, some courts decided that a free appropriate public education meant that the handicapped child was entitled to an education that would help the child become self-sufficient. Other courts decided that school districts were required to maximize the potential of each handicapped child commensurate with the opportunity provided to non-handicapped children. When a parent or school appeals a case to the U. S. Supreme Court, they file a Petition for Certiorari. Out of several thousand petitions received each year, the Supreme Court grants cert in fewer than 100 cases. When the Supreme Court agrees to hear a case, the Court also determines the issue.  

In 1982, the U. S. Supreme Court agreed to hear its first special education case (2021). 



(IDEAs That Work Resources, 2020, 03:15-05:21)




                            Figure 1

                                    Handicap Quote



Subscribe to: Comments (Atom)