News Release
NCD #02-351
February 27, 2002
Contact: Mark S. Quigley
202-272-2004
202-272-2074 TTY
mquigley@ncd.gov
National Council on Disability Calls for Accountability,
Achievement, and Fidelity for Students with Disabilities as IDEA
Reauthorization Looms
WASHINGTON--The National Council on Disability (NCD)
today called on funders, legislators, and policymakers for accountability,
achievement, and fidelity of implementation for students with disabilities
as the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA) begins in Congress.
Congress crafted a statute in 1975 that, if faithfully
implemented, will consistently produce quality outcomes for students
with disabilities. Special education is statutorily defined as "specially
designed instruction" that meets the "unique needs" of these students;
each student's individualized education program (IEP) is to set
forth his or her unique needs and individually designed instruction;
and, each student's placement is to be based on the IEP and be no
more restrictive than necessary (20 U.S.C. 1402(25); 34 C.F.R. 3000.552(a)(2)(b)).
If IEPs are based on the unique needs of students, if instruction
is individually designed, if IEPs are faithfully implemented, and
if the least restrictive environment requirements are followed,
students will achieve quality outcomes while enjoying maximum interactions
with their nondisabled peers. Compliance with the requirements of
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a necessary condition
for quality outcomes.
"IDEA is now the most significant aspect of the federal
involvement in public education for children and youth with disabilities.
Rich or poor, urban, suburban, or rural, all schools and districts
are affected by special education. IDEA's basic premise is that
all children with disabilities have a federally-protected civil
right to have available to them a free appropriate public education
that meets their schooling and related service needs in the least
restrictive environment, in regular classes, in the school the student
would attend if not disabled. It is a law designed to work for every
eligible student. Students with disabilities need the guarantee
of consistency and high standards in their education," said NCD
chairperson Marca Bristo.
President George W. Bush has recognized the importance
of the role that a strong and effective IDEA plays in ensuring that
no child gets left behind: the President has provided his immediate
and firm support of IDEA in his New
Freedom Initiative (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/freedominitiative/)
and in his No
Child Left Behind (http://www.ed.gov/inits/nclb/titlepage.html)
education proposal, which was passed by Congress in 2001.
During the course of five studies on IDEA, from 1989
to 2000, NCD consistently learned that parents of children with
disabilities are enthusiastic supporters of the law. They think
it is a good law. Those studies include: Back
to School on Civil Rights (2000) (Q://ncd/newsroom/publications/backtoschool_1.html);
Improving
the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act: Making Schools Work for All of America's Children Supplement
(1996) (Q://ncd/newsroom/publications/96school.html); Improving
the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act: Making Schools Work for All of America's Children (1995)
(Q://ncd/newsroom/publications/95school.html); Inclusionary
Education for Students with Disabilities: Keeping the Promise
(1994) (Q://ncd/newsroom/publications/inclusion.html); Serving
the Nation's Students with Disabilities: Progress and Prospects
(1993) (Q://ncd/newsroom/publications/progress.html); and, The
Education of Students with Disabilities: Where Do We Stand?
(1989) (Q://ncd/newsroom/publications/stand.html).
In addition, NCD published a 2002 legislative policy
brief that focuses on IDEA's
reauthorization. (Q://ncd/newsroom/reauthorizations/idea/idea.html).
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