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ABSTRACT
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was recently reauthorized as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Several significant changes were made in the most recent reauthorization. These included requirements for "highly qualified" special education teachers; a track that will result in full funding; changes in the composition of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and committee involvement in the IEP process; transition from school to postschool; identification procedures for students with learning disabilities (LD); due process hearings; expulsion and suspension of students with disabilities; and a host of other, less significant changes. Although on the surface some of these changes appear to be major, the primary purpose of IDEA-providing a free, appropriate public education for children with disabilities-remains intact.
THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION Act (IDEA; 1997) has once again been reauthorized. Although the reauthorization was thought to be on a fast track when it was initially begun in 2001, the law was finally passed in November 2004 and signed by President Bush in December 2004 (Council for Exceptional Children, 2004). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004), still to be referred to as IDEA, contains some significant changes; however, after careful review, the changes may not be as significant as first thought.
Certainly, the lives of children with disabilities in this country have been forever altered as a result of federal legislation. Beginning with the passage of Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, in 1975, federal policies and federal dollars have been an integral component of special education. Overall, there is no doubt that the lives of children with disabilities have improved significantly. Let us review some of the major changes that have resulted from this law; some of the changes made in previous reauthorizations; and finally, some of the major changes associated with IDEA 2004.
PUBLIC LAW 94-142
When Public Law 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) was passed in 1975, the state of special education was vastly different from what it is today. Prior to its passage, Congress found that up to 1 million of the estimated 8 million children with disabilities in the United States were excluded from public school services, and another 3 million were being served inappropriately. The...