Children With Disabilities Act Essay

In 1975, a historic milestone was reached when the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) was established, which is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This act sought to provide children with disabilities the right to a free education and related services that will be appropriate and adaptable to each child’s unique needs (IDEA, 2004). After an in-depth policy analysis of the IDEA, the argument supported in this paper is that although the IDEA has provided a great movement towards social justice for children with disabilities, the policy is not fully adequate in addressing the social problem. This conclusion creates a responsibly for social work professionals to ensure social justice for children
Prior to this acknowledgement, more than half of children with disabilities were not receiving an appropriate education, and one million disabled children were denied access to an education in the public school entirely (Altshuler & Kopels, 2003). Although Verstegen (1994) confirmed that some states established schools for students with specific disabilities as early as the 1820s (p. 18), these were separate from the public schools and provoked the segregation of children with disabilities. States continued to pass segregation laws based on the idea that disabled children would not benefit from an education, and allowed children to be turned away from school if they required any special form of transportation (p. 18). These laws highlight the severity of the social problem and the oppression children with disabilities faced. Not only were disabled children not given a chance, but their dignity and worth was completely diminished by the belief of others that they were incapable of becoming a contributing member of society. Eventually, parents of disabled children began to advocate and demand educational rights for their children, arguing that this right should not be provided as a form of charity, but as a civil right (Verstegen,