The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was initially passed in 1975. Prior to the passage of the IDEA, many people with disabilities were denied access to public education and many were relegated to institutions. The IDEA guarantees individuals with disabilities a free and appropriate education (FAPE) in a least restrictive environment (LRE). The IDEA is a great piece of legislation that has evolved as it has gone through reauthorization. The many facets of the IDEA help to shape the manner in which teachers facilitate classroom instruction and manage classroom activities.
In 1975, United State Congress passed a law that was conceived to defend the rights of students with disabilities. That Act was called The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and it was reauthorized in 2004. The law was created to ensure that all learners receive a proper, effective, and free public education, regardless of their abilities. Moreover, IDEA “strives not only to grant equal access to students with disabilities, but also to provide additional special education services and procedural safeguards” (National Resource Center on ADIHD, 2002).
The IDEA also provides procedures for states to receive funds to be used in the education of children with disabilities. The law moderates the distribution of those funds according to the fulfillment of several requirements. For instance, special education services have to be customized to meet the exceptional needs of learners with disabilities. It requires that these services to be provided in the least restrictive environment. Also, school districts have to guarantee special education includes physical and occupational services and other related therapies students with disabilities might need. State education departments are also responsible for providing assistive technology, curriculum or teaching modifications, and individual or small