Paper Topic:

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act : Legal and Educational Issues

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA ) is a federal education laws which requires public school districts to provide students with disabilities with a free and appropriate education (FAPE in the least restrictive environment (LRE . LRE , as defined in IDEA , is the environment in which "to the maximum extent appropriate , children with disabilities are educated with children who are not disabled (U .S Congress , 2004 , SEC . 607 ,

. 118 , STAT . 2660 . In the original language of IDEA , LRE was treated as a

somewhat subjective term that varied according to the needs of the child and the policies of the local school district . For example , in the case of a child with severe developmental disabilities , the LRE might be determined to be a self-contained special education classroom with very little interaction with non-disabled students in the case of a child with a moderate learning disability or some other , less severe , disability , the LRE may be the more inclusive environment of the regular classroom with appropriate accommodations and support services . Under the original provisions of IDEA , LRE for an individual student was to be determined by a team that consisted of the special education student 's parents , teachers who work with the child and other professionals who worked together to develop the student 's individual educational program (IEP hence , the "individual " nature of the IEP

Today , special education provides a continuum of educational services that range from more to less restrictive . In the most restrictive setting , educational services are delivered ina self-contained classroom with little or no interaction with non-disabled students . At the other end of the special education continuum , students with learning disabilities or other handicaps are enrolled in regular education classes and have the assistance of an aide and /or modifications to the curriculum . Placement practices vary widely across school districts (Burstein , Cabello , Sears , Spagna Wilcoxen , 2004 . In court rulings LRE has been generally interpreted as being integrated into the general population as much as possible , with the trend leaning towards greater inclusion of special education students (Handler , 2003

Since the mid 1980s , the ability of education professionals to determine the LRE for an individual student child has been increasingly restricted through court rulings and legal mandates that override or circumvent the authority of the school . Disagreements between schools and parents about where and how students with special needs should be taught has made special education one of the most litigious areas of school law (Herbst Katsiyannis , 2004 . Legal actions involving special education students tend to be initiated by parents , many of whom have strong feelings about having their child placed in the regular classroom with non-disabled students . School administrators who wish to avoid potential lawsuits may feel restricted in their placement options for special education students . Consequently , placement decisions may reflect the school 's desire to avoid litigation more than they reflect the school 's opinion about what might be in the best educational interests of the child and other...

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