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Now In: Resource Center | Information | Federal Laws Regarding Students with Disabilities

Federal Laws Regarding Students with Disabilities

There are currently two federal laws which govern education of children with disabilities:

IDEA – The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Neither specifically mandates inclusive services, but both require that a significant effort be made to find an inclusive placement. In order to provide services in a non-inclusive setting, the ARD committee must include a statement as to why the regular education classroom is not appropriate with the use of supplementary aids and services. According to IDEA, supplementary aids and services include but are not limited to:

Modifications
Collaboration
Specialized materials
Instructional support services provided by paraprofessionals

Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the nation’s special education law. First enacted three decades ago as Section 504, IDEA provides billions of dollars in federal funding to assist states in providing educational opportunities for disabled students who participate in special education.

In exchange for federal funding, IDEA requires states to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE). IDEA recognizes that, to the extent possible, children with disabilities are entitled to the same educational experiences as their non-disabled peers.

This law requires that children with disabilities be educated “to the maximum extent appropriate” in the “least restrictive environment”
Least restrictive environment (LRE) is always considered to be the regular education classroom
Requires the IEP team to consider placement in the regular education classroom as the starting point in determining the appropriate placement for a child

IDEA 2004

IDEA 2004 improves a district’s ability to form qualification guidelines. The new revision states that schools “shall not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning.”

IDEA ’97 states that 3 year re-evaluations are no longer required although some school districts continue this practice through district specific guidelines. The 1997 reauthorization gives the IEP team the ability to determine if a need for more standardized data exists in order to establish continued eligibility. The IEP team then determines the need for continued special education services based upon formal and/or informal measures.

Additional Information: http://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/idea.2004.all.pdf

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Section 504

With passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Congress required that school districts make their programs and activities accessible and usable to all individuals with disabilities. Section 504 states that no person with a disability can be excluded from or denied benefits of any program receiving federal financial assistance.

While both Section 504 and IDEA require that students with disabilities be educated to the maximum extent possible in the least restrictive environment, many other aspects of the laws do not coincide. For example, while IDEA requires schools to provide more services for disabled students, it also provides schools with additional funding. Section 504 in contrast requires that schools not discriminate, and in some cases undertake actions that require additional expenditures, but provides no additional financial support.

These two laws also differ in the definition of a disability. Under Section 504, the definition of a disability is much broader than the definition under the IDEA. Not all children with disabilities are entitled to services under IDEA, only those who are "eligible" under the specified disability categories. Section 504 is less discriminatory: it protects all persons with a disability who:

have a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities;
have a record of such an impairment; or
are regarded as having such an impairment.