lawyer

As of 2007, about 6.8 million American students with special needs and disability received special education services. Laws and legislation go back to the mid-1970s. There are two main laws concerning the education of children with special needs.

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was originally called the Education for the Handicapped Act (EHA) of 1976. You can think of it as our nation's special education law. Its purpose is to guarantee a Free and Appropriate Education (FAPE) for all children from age 5 through 21 with disabilities. Services must be free.

A personalized education program is to be given to everyone eligible for special education. Parents should be involved, including when an evaluation, identification and placement of the child are involved. EHA stipulates that children should receive education in the least restrictive environment.

Before that law was enacted, the needs of millions of American children with disabilities were not being met. They didn't receive pertinent educational services. They were excluded from the public school system and from education with others their age.

Because the disabilities weren't diagnosed, they typically experienced a subpar educational experience. And as a result of inadequate help from the public schools, families had to search for help outside that system.

Law has been updated many times

The EHA has been amended along the way. In 1986 it was amended to extend FAPE to children age 3 to 5. It created an early intervention initiative for those from birth to age 2 with disabilities. A personalized family service plan was also created for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

In 1996, amendments changed EHA's name to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), established transition services to individuals by the time they're 16, extended eligibility to those with autism and traumatic brain injury and defined technology devices for children with disabilities.

Vocational Rehabilitation Act-Section 504

The second major law is Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. This civil rights law bans schools and other programs receiving federal funding from discrimination against those with disabilities.

Section 504 is the first civil rights law for individuals with disabilities. It went into effect in May 1977.

The gist of the law is that no one with a disability who's qualified can be excluded from participating, denied benefits or be discriminated against in relation to any program receiving federal financial help, whether from an executive agency or the Postal Service.

ADA expands Section 504

Thanks to successful implementation, it set the stage for two subsequent law. The Virginians with Disabilities Act was a law passed through the efforts of 64 disability organizations. It went into effect in 1985. The other was the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The ADA gave full civil rights to anyone with a disability. It expanded Section 504. It bans discrimination in private and public employment, public accommodation, state and local government, telecommunications and transportation.

Students with disabilities are protected from discrimination and grants access to all educational programs. It doesn't matter whether or not a school receives federal funding, either.

Similar Questions on Ask.com