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Final Regulations - IDEA97

On March 12, 1999, the United States Department of Education published, in the Federal Register, final regulations to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997. "The new IDEA focuses on teaching and learning and establishes high expectations for disabled children to achieve real educational results," said U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley.

The changes mark a major milestone in the education of children with disabilities. It has been the first major revision to the Act in more than 23 years and is a very positive event for the more than 6 million children with disabilities throughout the country. These regulations have been designed to improve services as well as strengthen the role of parents in educational planning and decision making on behalf of their children.

The Final Regulations can be found in the Federal Register at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont99.html, in the Education Department section. However, following are some of the major changes:

IEPs & General Curriculum

Prior to 1997, the law did not address general curriculum involvement for students with disabilities. The final regulations now state that the Individualized Education Program for each child with a disability must include:

• The child’s present level of educational performance (including a statement of how the child’s disability affects involvement in the general curriculum);

• Measurable annual goals to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum;

• A statement of the special education, related services, and supplementary aids services to be provided;

• A statement of the program modifications or supports that will be provided for the child to achieve annual goals, become involved and progress in the general curriculum, participate in extracurricular activities, and to be educated with other children with and without disabilities.

General State and District Wide Assessments

As a condition of State eligibility for funding, it is now required that children with disabilities must be included in State and district-wide assessment programs, with appropriate modifications and accommodations in administration if necessary. For example, accommodations in test taking would include oral administration, Braille version, large print, separate room accommodations, and extended time.

Regular Education Teacher Involvement

The IEP team for each child with a disability must now include a regular education teacher if the child is, or will be, participating in a regular education environment. Other school staff may not be substituted for the regular education teacher and the regular education teacher at the IEP meeting should be the person responsible for implementing the regular education portion of the IEP. If the child has more than one regular education teacher, only one teacher is required to attend the IEP meeting. In addition, the regular education teacher participates (when appropriate) in the development, review, and revision of the IEP of the child. The IEP must be made accessible to all providers (regular education teacher, special education teacher, related service providers) who will be implementing the IEP.

Discipline

Schools may remove a student for up to ten school days at a time for violation of school rules as long as there is not a pattern, however, children with disabilities cannot be long-term suspended or expelled from school from a behavior that is a result of his or her disability. In addition, services must continue to be provided for children with disabilities who are suspended or expelled from school (although it is not a requirement for the first 10 days of the school year that the child is removed) to the extent necessary for the child to continue to appropriately advance toward the goals of the IEP. The schools must also assess children’s troubling behavior and develop positive behavioral interventions to address that behavior.

ADD & ADHD

ADD & ADHD have been listed as conditions that could render a child eligible for services under the "other health impaired (OHI) category in the IDEA. This was done to ensure that administrators, teachers, and parents would be fully aware that some children with ADD or ADHD are eligible to receive services under Part B.

Developmental Delay

Prior to the IDEA97 amendments, the State could define and require local education agencies to use the developmental delay category for children ages 3 through 5 years. IDEA97 extended the age range to ages 3 through 9 years and has authorized the local education agencies to decide whether or not to use the category (which, if used, must be by the State’s definition).

Graduation with a regular high school diploma

The regulations incorporate the long-standing policy that a student’s right to receive a free appropriate public education is terminated upon graduation with a regular high school diploma, but not ended by any other kind of graduation certificate or diploma.

Parentally placed children with disabilities in private schools

The term "service plan" has been adopted instead of "IEP" for use with parentally placed children in private schools. Therefore, each child with a disability, enrolled in a private school and eligible for Part B services, must have a service plan that describes the specific special education and related services that the local education agency will provide to the child. The local education agency must inform the private school representatives as to where services are to be provided, conduct meetings to develop, review, and revise service plans, and ensure that a school representative from the private school attends each of the meetings. The regulations address transportation issues as well, stipulating that local education agencies are not required to provide transportation between the child’s home and the private school.

The Department of Education has prepared a user-friendly package of final regulations to help parents, teachers, and school administrators understand the expectations for educating children with disabilities, as set forth by the law.

For more information, please visit the following web site: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA/regs.html

 

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