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#IDEA—the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

Updated, May 2014

A legacy resource from NICHCY

IDEA was originally enacted by Congress in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities have the opportunity to receive a free appropriate public education, just like other children.  The law has been revised many times over the years.

The most recent amendments were passed by Congress in December 2004. with final regulations published in August 2006 (Part B for school-aged children) and in September 2011 (Part C, for babies and toddlers). So, in one sense, the law is very new, even as it has a long, detailed, and powerful history.

This website is full of information about IDEA. We are pleased to connect you with:

• Summaries of IDEA s requirements, which shape what school systems do;
• IDEA itself to read IDEA s exact words, you can either download a copy of the law and its regulations, or read them here online;
• Guidance on IDEA from the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education; and
• Training materials on IDEA that you can use to fully inform yourself and others.

Use the links above to find the type of information you re looking for on IDEA. It s a great law! Complicated, to be sure, but well worth understanding and implementing.

Summaries of IDEA

If you re looking for summaries of what the law requires (rather than its word-for-word statute or regulations), let us point you to two other major sections of our website:

Services for babies and toddlers to the third birthday (Part C of IDEA)

Exact Words of IDEA Itself