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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
