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Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act
IDEA
The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act is the federal law which
safeguards a child with a disability’s right to a free and
appropriate public education. The six principles in IDEA
are:
- Zero Reject
The Zero Reject
principle ensures that all children receive a free
and appropriate public education, no matter how
severe their disability. A child may not be
excluded because a school district feels they are
too disabled to learn, has inappropriate behavior
caused by their disability, or has a contagious
disease unless there is a high risk that the student
will infect other students. For more
information on the Zero Reject principle and FAPE
visit:
- Non-Discriminatory
Evaluation
The
Non-Discriminatory Evaluation principle has two
purposes:
1. To determine if
a student has a disability; and
2. If there is a
disability to determine whether the student then
requires special education and related services
and if so, to begin to determine which of these
services they need.
Parents must be
informed of and give consent to their child
receiving a Non-Discriminatory Evaluation or a
reevaluation. As of the 1997 Amendments to
IDEA, parents are members of the team which performs
the evaluation. The evaluation must be free of
cultural and linguistic bias. For more information
on the Non-Discriminatory Evaluation visit:
- Least Restrictive
Environment
The Least Restrictive
Environment principle states that children with
disabilities have a right to be educated, to the
maximum extent appropriate, with children without
disabilities. The term Inclusion
is not a part of IDEA although the Least Restrictive
Environment principle speaks to the issue of
Inclusion. For more information on Inclusion and
the Least Restrictive Environment principle visit:
- Appropriate
Education
The Appropriate
Education principle states that every student with a
disability has a right to an education which benefits
them, meaning that they make real, not trivial
progress and do not regress. An appropriate
education includes specially designed instruction
(special education) and related services which the
students needs to make progress. The document
which defines an appropriate education for each
student is the Individualized
Education Plan (IEP). To
learn more about the Appropriate Education principle
visit:
- Parent/Student
Participation
The Parent/Student
Participation principle provides for shared decision
making between the parents, the student and the
school. Parents have the right to be notified of all
evaluations and reevaluations, receive copies of all
evaluations and documentation, have access to student
records and to be full members of the both the team
which evaluates the student and the team which
develops the IEP. For more information on the
Parent/Student Participation principle visit:
- Procedural Due
Process
The Procedural Due
Process principle makes schools and parents
accountable to each other. When parents and schools
disagree, IDEA provides for them to participate in
mediation and if that is unsuccessful, to have a due
process hearing. The due process hearing is held
before a disinterested person called a due process
hearing officer. Whoever loses at the due process
hearing has the right to appeal their case at a higher
court.
For more information on IDEA
visit:
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