Special Education Law: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Essay Sample)

Special Education Law: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
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Abstract
The paper explores special education laws formulated in the US to provide equal education opportunities and access to children with disabilities. More specifically, this paper focuses on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In this regard, the document discusses the definition of the law exploring its legal boundaries. The paper also discusses the various parts of the IDEA law and what they entail; Part A to Part D. IDEA was established to ensure children with special needs receive equal access to education as other children. Additionally, the paper explores the history of the IDEA law; it was initially referred to as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) in 1975, and was termed IDEA in 1990 and later reauthorized to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 with several amendments made to the act. The paper also explores IDEA’s present implementation and its impact on special educators.
Keywords: special needs, free public education, handicapped children
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Special education law is a broad area that encompasses various laws in the United States (US) intended to provide persons with disabilities (PWDs) equal access to education. These laws can be formed at both the federal and state level of governments. For a long time, schools neglected to provide children with special needs with a conducive environment to facilitate their enrollment in schools. Consequently, the number of special needs persons who could access education in the past was drastically low. However, that changed in a 1954 landmark Supreme Court ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, where it was outlawed to discriminate arbitrarily against certain individuals (Turnbull, 2005).