Anniversary of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

November 29 will mark the 48th anniversary of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, being signed into law.

Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142), also known as the EHA, in 1975 to support states and localities in protecting the rights of, meeting the individual needs of, and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families. This landmark law’s name changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, in a 1990 reauthorization. The law was last reauthorized in 2004, and the department has periodically issued new or revised regulations to address the implementation and interpretation of the IDEA.

In the United States, in 2020-2021, more than 66% of children with disabilities were in general education classrooms 80% or more of their school day (IDEA Part B Child Count and Educational Environments Collection), and early intervention services were provided to more than 363,000 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families (IDEA Part C Child Count and Settings).

Other accomplishments directly attributable to the IDEA include educating more children in their neighborhood schools, rather than in separate schools and institutions, and contributing to improvements in the rate of high school graduation, post-secondary school enrollment, and post-school employment for youth with disabilities who have benefited from the IDEA.

Within our district, the staff that serve students with individualized education plans (IEP) have chosen a career to meet the individualized needs of students.  Sixty-six percent of students with IEPs spend 80% or more of their day in the general education setting at neighborhood schools. The district has accomplished the ability to offer specialized programs for those students requiring that level of support. Nineteen percent of students with IEPs receive their services in a placement outside of their homeschool, but still within the boundaries of CCSD21. The students spend up to 40% of their day in general education while receiving the majority of their instruction in a special education classroom at Riley, Poe, Longfellow, Twain, Cooper, Holmes or London.