IDEA/Special Education

In 1975, passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), reaffirmed the American principle that all children deserve a free and appropriate public education. Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, the latest iteration of IDEA, in 2004.

The Department of Education (ED) announced the new regulations for Part B of IDEA on August 3, 2006. The regulations include a change to the law regarding service delivery systems for parentally placed private school students. Under the new provisions, public school districts would provide IDEA services based on the jurisdictional location of the private school, instead of the jurisdictional location of the child's residence.

To read information on the new regulations, go to: http://idea.ed.gov.

NASSP is part of the IDEA Funding Coalition which advocates that the federal government pay 40 percent of the National Average per Pupil Expenditure (APPE) for every child enrolled in special education, a commitment made by Congress when the law was first passed.

IDEA Funding Coalition's Mandatory Funding Proposal

NASSP formed a new task force in 2008 to study the effects of the IDEA on secondary schools and their leaders and to propose recommendations regarding the changes that should be incorporated into a newly reauthorized law. Their recommendation will be release in 2009. View the taskforce's final recommendations, released November 2009.

For current information about IDEA, visit the Principal's Policy Blog.