Which is the current special education law?

Ralph Lopez on July 23, 2018

There are two federal laws on special education. The main one is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990. It came about as an amendment to the Education of Handicapped Children Act of 1975. There were further amendments to the law in 1997 and 2004, to make it more inclusive for all children with disabilities. The act provides for the following in brief.

1. That children with disabilities must be provided with individualized attention, according to their specific needs, to pursue their education. All this must be provided at no cost to the parent. Among the disabilities identified in the act are autism, deafness, deaf-blindness, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, multiple disabilities and other health impairments.
2. The second act that guides the education of children with disabilities is Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act prohibits public or private entities from discriminating against persons with disabilities. Such entities include schools and other educational institutions. It states that they must be made a part of the society. You can find out more about the act at the US Department of Education site.
3. The Education role in modern days has changed. Education is now required to produce learners that are useful and functional in society, not just those with high literacy and numeracy skills. That is what the UN advocates for as part of its poverty eradication program. So you should expect some changes in the curriculum from now on. However, the requirement for the inclusion of special needs children in the education system will not change. The aim is to ensure that every child learns and becomes useful in society. That includes the children with disabilities as well.
4. You can get supplies for special education by checking with some reliable websites. Among those websites is School Specialty. They have mobility, motor and hearing aids. They also provide sensory processing and language assistance gadgets. The other organizations that offer useful supplies are Nasco and Kaplan. Their offerings include guidebooks, self-care products, cognitive assistance, reading and cognitive stimulation products. You will get things you haven’t even known about. Some of them are common enough toys, but they are used in the classroom in a special way. There are also those which you will be meeting for the first time, but you will never part ways with, once you learn their use.