The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - History & Evolution

Let me at the outset thank all of the distinguished guests for being here on this auspicious occasion today. On November 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, EHA, otherwise referred to as Public Law 94-142. What began as the EHA has evolved into the law commonly referred to as IDEA, or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Today, IDEA is a law that ensures a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment to every child with a disability aged 3 through 21, with limited exceptions. Let's take a look back at the history of IDEA and how it has evolved over the years. By 1975, Congress had found that millions of American children with disabilities were not receiving an education at all, not receiving an appropriate education, or were not having their disabilities identified, and therefore struggling in school. The goal of the EHA was to support states in protecting the rights, meeting the needs, and improving results for toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families. It included efforts to improve how children with disabilities were identified and educated, evaluate the success of these efforts, provide due process protections for children and families. It also authorized financial support for states to offset the cost of educating children with disabilities. From 1975 to 1979, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare oversaw implementation. In 1979, implementation and carrying out of the EHA was transferred to the newly created U.S. Department of Education. The 1986 reauthorization of EHA reaffirmed America's commitment to equal opportunity for all children with disabilities. For the first time, states were required to provide services to families from birth, not just starting at age three. In 1990, it was reauthorized again and became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. The 1990 reauthorization added traumatic brain injury and autism as new disability categories. It also required that an IEP, or Individualized Education Program, include services to help students transition to post-secondary life. Later, the 1997 reauthorization included significant amendments. First, articulating a new challenge to improve results for families and children and emphasizing access to the general curriculum. Second, states were given the authority to expand the definition of developmental delay to include students up to age nine. Lastly, encouraging parents to attempt to resolve disputes with schools and local educational agencies, or LEAs, through mediation and providing a process for doing so. The new IDEA helps make sure that parents will not have to resort to superhuman means to get what they need for their children. 2004 marked the most recent reauthorization of IDEA. Children with disabilities deserve high hopes, high expectations, and extra help. We trust the local folks to meet high standards for all our kids. And this bill gives them the freedom and flexibility to meet our goals. So I'm honored to sign the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. It included new amendments such as calling for strategies to support students who are at risk of being referred for special education, greater accountability and improved outcomes, raising the standards for instructors who teach special education classes, requiring schools to use research-based special education and related services to the extent practicable when developing individualized education programs. Since 1975, we've made significant progress in ensuring FAPE by protecting the rights and meeting the needs of children with disabilities. If the American experience tells us anything, it is that expanding opportunity lifts us all up. And that's really what IDEA is all about. Because of IDEA, students with disabilities have access to educational programs and the supports and services they need to be successful. Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down. God bless you all.