Educational Law and Advocacy: An Introduction to Special Education and 504 Plans
Children with neurodevelopmental disorders require a broad range of interventions and supports to ensure their growth across various domains of functioning, such as physical, educational, social, emotional, and adaptive life skills. In most cases, these services are provided through government funding via the public school system. According to the U.S. Department of Education, an estimated 6.4 million children and adolescents aged 3-21 received supports and interventions through the public school system during the 2012-2013 school year.
Special Education Law in the United States
Prior to the enactment of the first federal special education law, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EHA; Public Law 94-142), students with disabilities had limited access to public education. Before the passage of EHA, more than half of children with disabilities did not receive appropriate educational services and did not have equal opportunities to access the curriculum and acquire academic skills. It was estimated that approximately 1,000,000 children with disabilities in the United States were completely excluded from receiving a public school education with their peers. Additionally, many children with special needs who were enrolled in regular education programs were not successfully educated because their disabilities were not recognized or treated.
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act
The initial law, EHA, was a response to Congressional interest and concern regarding this upsetting phenomenon and the large population of children who were denied educational experiences. The legislation was also informed by historical court decisions involving special needs students’ limited access to education. The Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Commonwealth and Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972) rulings helped to establish that states and localities were responsible for educating children with disabilities. The underlying purpose of EHA was to allow all children with disabilities access to an appropriate education, protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents, assist states and localities in providing services for these children, and evaluate and ensure the efficacy of these services. This law was amended several times to reflect important considerations before it was changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) remains the federal law that details guidelines for the provision of special education services for all children from birth through age 21. IDEA has been in place for over 30 years and was most recently reauthorized in 2004 as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act or IDEIA 2004. The law is updated on a consistent basis to determine what modifications and amendments are required to provide the most appropriate services to students with special needs. Many key additions have been added to the law over time, including service provision to infants and toddlers (0-3 years; Early Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers), transition planning for older students, and the proposal of alternate means of identifying learning disabilities to find and provide interventions and services to more children with learning disabilities.
Conclusion
Understanding the history and framework of special education law is crucial for parents, educators, and healthcare providers who work with children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The evolution of these laws reflects a growing recognition of the rights of children with disabilities to access appropriate education and the need for continuous improvement in service provision. In the upcoming posts, we will delve deeper into the principles of IDEA, the process of identifying disabilities, and the development and implementation of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 Plans.