The Laws: IDEA and Section 504
The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
-entitles cildren ages 3-21 to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE)
-provides funding to states to develop and support special educational programs
-guarantees children will be educated in the least restrictive environment
-requires that each child receiving special education have a written IEP (Individualized Ed. Plan)
-establishes parental rights to question placement decisions and the right to due process when settling differences
-specifies payment by schools for these related services:
| adaptive equipment |
recreation |
| assistive technology |
school health services |
| audiology |
social work services |
| occupational therapy |
special transportation |
| physical therapy |
speech/language therapy |
| psychological service |
|
There are 13 categories under which a child may be eligible for IDEA/Special Education:
| Autism |
Deaf |
| Deaf-Blind |
Visually Impaired |
| Hearing Impaired |
Mental Retardation |
| Multiple Disabilities |
Orthopedically Impaired |
| Other Health Impaired |
Emotionally Disturbed |
| Learning Disabled |
Speech/Language Impaired |
| Traumatic Brain Injury |
|
In the majority of cases, the school district will have its own criteria to determine whether or not a child falls into these categories:
To qualify for Learning Disabled, a child must exhibit a discrepancy of 16+ points between his IQ (ability) and achievement scores (performance), creating an educational need
To qualify for Emotionally Disturbed, the school will typically provide a psychological evaluation.
To qualify for Speech/Language Impaired, the school will typically use its own speech therapists to evaluate and determine if the disability creates an educational need.
To qualify for Other Health Impaired, a physician must attest that the child has:
limited strength, vitality or alertness, including a heightened alertness to enviromental stimuli, that results in a limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that: (1) is due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, ADHD, diabetes, epilepsy, heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, and sickle cell anemia and (2) adversely affects a child's educational performance.
Section 504
CopyrightŠ2000 Texas Childrens Hospital, Learning Support Center
All Rights Reserved
Used with permission
Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source
|
|