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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. It ensures that the child with a disability has equal access to an education. The child may receive accommodations and modifications. An education for a student with a disability under Section 504 regulations could consist of education in regular classrooms, education in regular classes with services, or special education with services. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/504faq.html -
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
FERPA provides privacy safeguards to parents, legal guardians and students. The federal law affords parents the right to have access to their children’s education records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of personally identifiable information from the education records until the student is 18 or goes to college, then the rights transfer to the student. http://familypolicy.ed.gov/faq-page#t52n50 -
Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EHA)
The law stated that public schools receiving federal funds must provide children with special needs with the same opportunities for education as other children.The mission of this act was to make special education services accessible to children need it, maintain fair and appropriate services for disabled students and enforce evaluation requirements for special education. http://www.masters-in-special-education.com/lists/5-important-special-education-laws/ -
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
IDEA is a modification of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. IDEA states that children with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education and that each child's education will be planned and monitored with an individualized education program or an individualized family service plan. IDEA also changed the language of the law. This new terminology focuses attention to the individual, not to the label/condition. http://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/disability/idea.aspx -
IDEA 1997
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 shifted the focus of IDEA to improve teaching and learning through emphasizing the IEP as a primary tool for educational planning, increasing the role of parents in decision making and promoting access to the general curriculum. It reflected a "preference for children with disabilities to be educated and receive services with their non-disabled age-mates in typical settings". https://www.education.com/reference/article/individuals-disabilities-education-act/ -
IDEA IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2004
The re-authorization of IDEA in 2004 kept the major principles and components of IDEA but provided key changes that have impacted students with special needs. Some of these changes include requiring teachers to be certified in special education, using IEPs with measurable goals for students and the requirement to determine if a child has a specific learning disability, using research-based intervention. https://www.education.com/reference/article/individuals-disabilities-education-act/
