INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA)

Prior to the 1960’s, schools didn’t even have to teach kids with disabilities. With the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and other laws that followed in the same vein, children with disabilities were guaranteed the right to receive an education. The Civil Rights Actpassed in the 1960’s protects people who are classified as minorities. This includes people who have disabilities. The most important laws that protect children with disabilities are the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

There are six principles of the IDEA that are suppose to guide the way schools plan, deliver and evaluate the special education services that children receive. These principles are:

• A Free And Appropriate Education – children with disabilities are entitled to a free (free of cost) and appropriate (appropriate for the child’s needs) education.
• An Appropriate Evaluation – in order for your child to receive the most appropriate education, the school must know what "appropriate" is. They do this by evaluating the child. The evaluation helps the school understand the child’s specific needs.
• Individualized Education Plan (IEP)– this is the document that assures that your child will receive an appropriate education. The IEP is a written document that describes the changes and additions that need to be made in your child's school environment to help him receive the best possible education. It is put together by school personnel, parents, the child when appropriate and others who have the child’s best interests in mind. It is similar to a care plan or treatment plan in a mental health setting, but it specifically applies to your child’s education.
• Least Restrictive Environment – the IDEA guarantees each child with a disability receives a free, appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. The evaluation process and the IEP process will help determine whether the child is best served in the regular classroom or in another educational setting. It is the school’s responsibility to provide an alternate setting.
• Parent And Student Participation In The IEP – this guarantees the right of the student and the parents to be part of the IEP process.
• Procedural Safeguards – there are safeguards built into the law that protect the rights of parents and students. For example, the school must notify the parent about any action it intends to take in planning the child’s IEP; parents have the right to review all of their child’s records; there must be a complaint process in place for parents to use if there is a problem with the IEP.

IDEA is not intended to provide treatment for children. Instead, it is a guarantee that the school will provide services to children who have so that they can get the most from their educational experience.

Not all mental health issues qualify as a disability. In order to be classified as a disability and to be eligible for special education services, a child’s mental health or behavioral issues must be disabilities that interfere with one or more basic life activities. This sounds like a legal definition and to some degree, it is.

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INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PLANS

The actual IEP meeting is when the child’s IEP (individual education plan) is developed. The meeting is held with the child’s parents or caregivers, school personnel and when appropriate, the child herself. The meeting determines what special accommodations will be made in the child’s school environment that will help her get more out of the school experience.

What should be in the IEP:

• A statement of the child’s current level of educational performance.
• Annual goals
• Short term objectives to reach the annual goals
• Description of the services to be provided
• Explanation of the extent to which the child will participate in regular educational programs
• The projected date when services will start and the anticipated duration of services
• Criteria for determining whether goals and objectives have been met.

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RIGHTS UNDER THE IDEA

• A free and appropriate public education from the age of 6 through 18
• Access to the same variety of programs and services that children without disabilities have.
• Placement in the least restrictive learning environment, to the degree possible, at the same school the child would attend if she did not have a disability.
• Another appropriate learning setting if attending a local public school is not possible.
• Appointing a person to act as a parent surrogate and to participate in the IEP meeting if the parents are unavailable.
• Participation in the writing of the IEP
• Placement outside the school district in another public school or private school at public expense if local schools do not have an appropriate program.
• Annual review of placement
• Privacy and confidentiality of all records.

As a parent, you have the following rights under the IDEA:

1. Participate in the review of your child’s IEP.
2. Agree to a time and place for those meetings
3. Instruct the local school agency to hold these meetings in your primary language and to make special arrangements for any disability you or your spouse may have.
4. Give consent before any assessment is conducted
5. Receive a copy of the assessment report.
6. Get an independent assessment of your child at public expense if you find the schools’ assessment inappropriate. The school may request a hearing to decide the appropriateness of it’s own assessment.
7. Give voluntary written consent to any activities proposed for your child.
8. Receive written notice of any proposed change to the IEP or the school’s refusal to make a requested change to the IEP.
9. Attend and make comments at the annual public hearing for the state’s special education plan.
10. Review and if necessary, question your child’s records in accordance with the Family Educational Rights Act.
11. Disagree and refuse consent on the following ideas:

• Correcting or changing information in your child’s files
• Evaluating your child
• Placing your child in a special education program
• Obtaining additional information from an outside source about your child
• Giving information from the school to another person about your child
• Changing the special program placement of your child
• Removing your child from the special education program.

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