Running head: Individuals with disabilities education act

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Amanda King-Robinson
Salt Lake Community College

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Abstract

Children with disabilities are a very important part of my life. I am a Para educator in a
severe disabilities unit at a junior high. I decided to research the Individuals With Disabilities
Education Act to learn more about why the education system works the way it does for those
with disabilities and to understand my role as a Para educator within the guidelines of the policy.
I will discuss the policy itself, who the policy serves, the cost of implementing the policy, the
pros and cons of one aspect of the policy, which is inclusion in outside classes, and my position
and recommendations on the policy.

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA for short, was implemented in
1990 and first known as The Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975. Since 1990 it
has seen many revisions. In 1997 the definition of disabled children changed to include
developmentally delayed children between the ages of three and nine. It also authorized grants
for technology, disabled infants and toddlers, parent training, and professional development. In
2004 it was revised to have more concrete provisions relating to discipline. The final revision
was done in 2009 with Obama increasing funding by $12.2 billion. (Wikipedia, 2015)
IDEA is a policy with four sections A, B, C, and D. Part A puts together the foundation of
the Act and defines the terms. It also creates the Office of Special Education Programs that is
responsible for administering the terms of IDEA.
Part B sets the guidelines for school children ages 3-21 years. The guidelines set by part
B are as follows. Every child is entitled to a free and appropriate public education. If a school
professional believes that a student has a disability the student is entitled to an evaluation.
Individual Education Plans will be created in order to lay out specific actions and steps
educators, parents, and the student will take in order for the student to reach their goals. The least
restrictive environment and, if possible, typical educations settings must be provided, and
input of the parent and child must be taken into account in the education process.
Part C recognizes the needs for very young children with disabilities. This part provides
guidelines for the funding and services of children from birth to two years. The services families
are entitled to through part C include the following. All families are entitled to intervention
services for their young child. Families are required to have an Individualized Family Service
Plan that will lay out the priorities and concerns of the family, describe the goals of the child, and

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the services that will be provided to get to the next step of transitioning to formal education.
Families have the right to participate in the creation of the IFSP and must consent before it is
implemented.
Part D describes activities the nation will do to improve education for children with
disabilities. These include grants that will improve education and transitional services. Part D
also provides resources for support programs and activities that contribute to positive results.
(APA, 2015)
Target Population
The population that this policy targets is all those 3-21 years of age that have a disability.
The policy defines the term child with a disability as meaning, with mental retardation,
hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments
(including blindness), serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic
brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and who, by reason
thereof, need special education and related services. Not all children with a disability require
special education. The following are some but not all disabilities that are included in the
definition. (Bernadette Knoblauch, 1998)
Autism: is a disability that affects verbal and nonverbal communication and social
interactions. This can significantly affect a childs educational performance. Other things that are
associated with autism include: repetitive activities, resistance to environmental changes, and
unusual response to sensory experiences. One example would be a child I had in my classroom.
He was very smart and could tell you anything you wanted to know about any president. He was
a whiz at math and could read and write well, however, he would get very upset if anything in his
daily routine was disrupted, sometimes to the point of violence. He would not be able to function

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outside a structured special education program, and therefore, would not be able to receive any
form of education.
Deafness/blindness: the inability to hear/see fully or partially which affects the childs
educational performance. I have a student that is completely blind. He has full mental capacity
and can understand everything that is being taught in general education classes, but he needs the
assistance the special education department provides through Para educators and peer tutors in
order to get to and from class, and assistance in reading and writing.
Multiple disabilities: this can include any combination of impairments such as mental
retardation and cerebral palsy, or any combination that causes a severe impairment to the
education of the child.
Serious Emotional Disturbance: this disability includes schizophrenia or other mental
disabilities that inhibit a child from building relationships with teachers and peers. Other things
that impair education are the use of inappropriate behavior, general mood of unhappiness or
depression, and a tendency to develop physical or emotional symptoms of fear associated with
personal or school problems. An example of this would be a student I had that was
schizophrenic/bipolar. On his good days he could focus for about ten minutes at a time on any
given task. On his bad days we couldnt get him to focus at all without a melt down and either
crying or getting violent. This impaired his ability to go into any general education classes. Any
form of education was difficult, but without the special education program and this policy he
would not have been able to receive any education.
These are only a few of the disabilities included under the policy definition, but the
examples given show how important this Act is to those children with disabilities that it effects.

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Cost of the Policy

Funding for special education comes from several different sources including federal
funding, state funding, local funding, and Medicaid. According to the American SpeechLanguage-Hearing Association federal funding comes from two sources the ESEA (Elementary
Secondary Education Act) also known as No Child Left Behind and IDEA. The bulk of the
federal governments contributions for special education are done through IDEA. Congress
authorized 40 percent of per-pupil expenditure in the state, however, appropriations have
historically ranged between 10-20 percent. State and local funding vary from district to district
depending upon tax revenue.
Medicaid is a very important source of funding for school districts. In 1988 an act called
the Catastrophic Medicare Act allowed providers to bill Medicaid for special education services
delivered in schools. These funds may be used for IEPs, school health services, salaries for
service providers, assistive technology equipment, hearing assistance technology, professional
development, and instructional supplies, materials, and software. (American Speech-LanguageHearing Association, 1997-2015)
Special education spending in total is approximately $77.3 billion this includes providing
a combination of regular and special education services to students with disabilities. That is an
average of $12,474 per student. Since 1968 total spending per pupil has risen from $5,961 to
$12,474. This increase can be attributed to demand for school personnel and an increase in
enrollment of students with disabilities.
If we look at what is spent on special education alone and we dont consider general
education costs for children with disabilities it accounts for $50 billion in spending. The
allocations of special education expenditures are as follows: school-aged programs operated

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within public schools 61% or $30.7 billion, school-aged programs operated outside public
schools 11% or $5.3 billion, preschool programs operated within public schools 8% or $4.1
billion, preschool programs operated outside public schools 1% or $263 million, other
instructional programs (homebound & summer) 2% or $912 million, transportation services 7%
or $3.7 billion, and administration & support services 10% or $5 billion.
Assessment, evaluation, and IEP related costs are broken down as follows: special
education teachers 27% or $1.8 billion, related service providers at the school site 28% or $1.9
billion, central office staff 22% or $1.5 billion, and regular education teachers 23% or $1.6
billion. (Jay G. Chambers, 2004)
Pros and Cons of IDEA
For the pros and cons I want to focus on one aspect of the policy that I feel has one of the
most significant impacts on students with disabilities, that part is the rule of inclusion. It is
written in part B of the policy and states, The education and services for children with
disabilities must be provided in the least restrictive environment, and if possible, those children
be placed in a typical education setting with non-disabled students. (APA, 2015)
Inclusion means that a student with disabilities is placed in a general education classroom
and integrated with students in the general education classes. This is done so that the student is
ensured an equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. One problem
that arises is when a student is required to take the same tests as a student without a disability.
This can lead to severe anxiety and low self-esteem. However, from my experience if a student
with a disability struggles with testing or has the inability to take a standard test the teacher will
make appropriate accommodations for the student in order for them to succeed.

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I feel the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to inclusion. Inclusion can result in better
social competence, greater communication skill, and development skills. Students that are
included in regular general education classes learn to interact with their peers at a much higher
level and become a more active part of the student body. (Savich, 2008) I also feel that another
pro is for the general education students. They learn tolerance for people that are different from
themselves. They learn how to work with people with disabilities and are able to see that students
with disabilities are not to be feared and that they are not so different from anyone else.
The cons of inclusion are that some students with disabilities could be prevented from
receiving the intense and individualized attention they may need from the teacher. There are also
not enough funds to make inclusion in general education viable in some cases. Another problem
is that general education teachers do not possess the proper training or qualifications to teach
students with disabilities effectively. One last problem is that class sizes need to be reduced if
students with disabilities are to be included and this is rarely a possibility. (Savich, 2008)
Position and Recommendations
For me education of children with disabilities has been a part of my life since I can
remember. I started peer tutoring in the sixth grade and continued doing so until I graduated from
high school. Now as an adult I am a Para educator in a severe unit at a junior high. I believe
without this policy none of that would have been possible.
I believe this policy is important not only for the student but also for the families. Part C
of IDEA give a family the right to appropriate identification and intervention services for their
young children. It helps to set a course for parents of children with disabilities to get assistance
for them at a very young age. I cant imagine what it would be like to have a child with a

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disability and not have a policy in place that could help me get the resources I needed to give my
child the best education possible.
I would reiterate how important I feel the inclusion of students with disabilities is in
general education classes. An unknown person once said, We, the ones who are challenged,
need to be heard. To be seen not as a disability, but as a person who has and will continue to
bloom. To be seen not only as a handicap, but as a well intact human being. (Langtree, 2015) I
couldnt agree more with this quote. Students with disabilities need to be included. They need to
be seen as people that have the capability to learn and grow and do something with their lives.
There is not a day that goes by that I dont see the growth in each child in my classroom. Without
the inclusion in the general education system there would not be enough opportunity to learn
new things. There is just not enough time in the day for one teacher in the special education
department to teach what can be taught through inclusion.
If I had one recommendation it would be to mandate that teachers in the general
education system learn about the different types of disabilities and how they can successfully
include their students with disabilities. As I take around my students to different classes more
often than not I see the teacher unable or uninterested in helping my students. They instruct the
other class members but do not try to include the students with disabilities. I have never been
asked by a teacher how they can help my student to succeed. I think if general education teachers
were mandated to take a certain number of hours in learning about special education and the
needs of those students it would go a long way to help improve the outcome of the students
education.

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References

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1997-2015). American Speech-LanguageHearing Association. Retrieved 11 13, 2015, from www.asha.org:
http://www.asha.org/Advocacy/schoolfundadv/Overview-of-Funding-For-Pre-K-12Education/
APA. (2015). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Retrieved 11 13, 2015, from
www.apa.org: http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/disability/idea.aspx
Bernadette Knoblauch, B. S. (1998, 4). ericdigest.org. Retrieved 11 13, 2015, from
http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-4/ideas.htm
Jay G. Chambers, T. B. (2004, June). Special Education Expenditure Project. (Center for Special
Education Finance) Retrieved 11 13, 2015, from www.csef.air.org:
http://csef.air.org/publications/seep/national/AdvRpt1.PDF
Langtree, I. (2015, 10 23). Disabled World. Retrieved 11 14, 2015, from http://www.disabledworld.com/disability/disability-quotes.php
Savich, C. (2008). Inclusion: The Pros and Cons: A Critical Review. Oakland: ERIC. Retrieved
11 14, 2015, from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED501775
Wikipedia. (2015, 10 31). Retrieved 11 13, 2015, from Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act

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