Running head: SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
Special Education Laws and Revisions
Jessica Westfall
EDSP 360
Liberty University
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
NAME OF LAW OR REVISION
DATE OF LAW OR
REVISION
HOW THE LAW OR
REVSISION PERTAINS TO
STUDENTS AND
TEACHING
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act (IDEA)
Signed into Law:
November 29,1975
Last Revision: 2004
The Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act
(IDEA) pertains to students and
teaching because it provides all
children with disabilities the
opportunity and access to a free
and appropriate education
(FAPE) in the least restrictive
environment (LRE). The FAPE
and LRE are separate acts but
are all connected through the
main IDEA. The IDEA is vital
to the success of all children
with special needs. It also helps
teachers be prepared for how to
teach their students with special
needs in the means that it
provides guidelines to follow.
Guidelines like a least restrictive
environment ensures that a
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
student will be placed according
to their need and not just in any
class that may hold them back
from reaching their full ability to
learn. The Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act
ensures that children who are
labeled as disabled in any way
will provide specified services
to their needs, ensures that the
families and students with
disabilities will be safe and
secured under the law, as well as
it provides an equal opportunity
for all students to learn.
Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA)
Signed into Law: April 11,
1965
Last revision: December
10, 2015 (ESSA)
The Elementary and Education
Act now known as Every
Student Succeeds Act, was
signed by former President
Barack Obama. The Act was
signed into law by former
President Lyndon B. Johnson on
April 11, 1965. The Act served
mostly to ensure that a full
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
education would be accessible
for all students. This Act effects
students and teachers because It
allows all students the ability to
an education. Every Student
Succeeds Act included many
provisions over time that include
advances in the student’s overall
education in hopes to prepare
them for not just the next grade
level, but also for college, trade
schools, and careers. The
importance of the ESSA for
students is really just that it
ensures that each student will be
put to the same high academic
standard, but it will be
personalized for each student
with disabilities through
accommodations like IEPs. This
Act helps teachers support their
students and push them towards
success.
Extended School Year Services (ESY)
Signed into Law: April 13,
The Extended School Year
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
1998
services are such a critical part
of special education. The main
idea behind the Extended School
Year services are to provide each
child despite the level of their
disabilities, an equal opportunity
to an education. The standard
school year is only 180 days,
and this revised law helps
children who may need more
time than that to learn and grow.
The Extended School Year
Services are definitely
individualized for each student
and vary depending on their
need. The law is mostly to
ensure that children keep their
skills and do not lose any of the
progress the student may have
been making. This is not the
same thing as summer school
because the Extended School
Year Services can be accessed
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
by using the time other students
may be on breaks like vacation
or winter break, for their time to
grow and make even more
progress. The ESY also benefits
the teachers, so they don’t have
to rush through material when it
may not have been fully
grasped.
Free Appropriate Public Education
(FAPE)
Signed into Law: 1973
A free and appropriate education
can include many different
services and provide many
different things. A free and
appropriate education is one
where education is provided
with specific services and
materials to meet each student
regardless of disability. It also
includes an evaluation process
to help place students where
they need to be to best learn and
grow. The Free and Appropriate
Public Education Law is best
defined exactly how it sounds; it
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
is free public education to all
students. This is a huge benefit
to students because it means that
they will not be denied the
opportunity to have an
education. The Free and
Appropriate Education Act is a
revision of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act also
known as the IDEA. It also
correlates with the
Rehabilitation Act and Section
504. This is also a benefit to
teachers, because they get to
teach all different types of kids
with all different types of
disabilities. A student should not
be defined by their disability,
with the Free and Appropriate
Public Education Law, no child
can be denied the right to a
public education.
Least restrictive environment (LRE)
Signed into Law: 1975 as
Part B of the IDEA
The Least Restrictive
Environment is a revision of the
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act that
was signed into law in 1975 as a
part of the IDEA. The Least
Restrictive Environments Law is
put in place to ensure that each
student will not be held back
and unable to succeed in the
classroom. Each student is
designed uniquely and has
different abilities and talents.
One student may have more
motor skill impairments than
another student; with the Least
Restrictive Environments law
revision, the child with motor
skill impairments will not be
held back in a class with
children who have no motor
skills. This law ensures that
every student will be places
accordingly to their abilities and
as they grow, they will be places
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
in environments that will
challenge them and not restrict
them from learning. This
benefits the student so they can
reach their full potential and not
be defined or held back because
of a disability.
Section 504
Signed into Law: 1973
The main purpose of Section
504 is to ensure each student no
matter their disability the
opportunity to an equal
education. Section 504 covers
ages roughly from three to
twenty and it covers all types of
disabilities. This is a huge
benefit to students because no
one is turned away based on
their disability. Section 504
covers all disabilities ranging
from any mental, physical, or
any other type of impairment
that may alter or impair their
life. This is also a benefit to
students, parents, and teachers
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
because if the parent believes
their student should be qualified
for Section 504, they can simply
reach out to the teachers and
administration at the school and
ask that their child be evaluated.
Section 504 is a huge benefit to
each student because again, it is
a part of their education program
that is individualized
specifically for them. Teachers
benefit because they have the
ability to get a student the
proper tools they need to fully
succeed in their education.
Family Education Rights and Privacy
Act (FERPA)
Signed into Law: August
21, 1974
The Family Education Rights
and privacy Act was signed into
law August 21, 1974. This law
basically protects students’
education records. However, this
law does give parental rights to
access their children’s
educational information. The
law gives parents access to
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
important decisions regarding
their child’s education until a
certain age, usually eighteen,
where the rights are then
transferred to the student. This
surely benefits teachers because
they are able to communicate
with parents and are aware of
any changes with their child’s
education. With the special
education community of
students, this is so important
because parents are usually the
main decision maker for all
things relating to health,
education, and more until even
after the age of 18. The Family
Education Rights and Privacy
Act gives students and parents
the right to their private
information as well as keeping it
private from other institutions.
Its main purpose it to keep
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
private information private and
give students a good education.
Assistive Technology Act (ATA)
Signed into Law: October
25, 2004
The Assistive Technology Act
was originally named the
Technology Related Assistance
Act, which was passed in 1988,
but has then been revised in
1994, 1998, and the latest 2004.
In this day and age technology
continues to expand every year,
so it would only make sense that
technology can help students.
Technology used in the
classroom is called assistive
technology because it helps to
assist the students in their
education. It is so common in
special education classrooms
because of the variety of
impairments and the variety of
uses assistive technology can be.
For example, assistive
technology can be very
beneficial for a student who may
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
be nonverbal as well as
beneficial for the teacher
because assistive technology
could help the nonverbal child
communicate. There are so
many uses of assistive
technology and so many reasons
it may be needed in the
classroom. This revised law is a
critical aspect of special
education.
Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA).
Signed into Law: July 26,
1990
Last Revision: September
25, 2008
The Americans with Disabilities
Act was first signed into law
July 26, 1990, but since then has
had many revisions as other
laws changed and expanded.
The last revision to the ADA
was in September 25, 2008. The
Americans with Disabilities Act
is a civil rights law that protects
all Americans with disabilities
and gives them access to
accommodations and services.
Some of these accommodations
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
and services are related but not
limited to; transportation,
education, and
telecommunications. It protects
all Americans no matter their
age or their disability.
Disabilities like Deafness,
blindness, diabetes, cancer,
epilepsy, intellectual disabilities,
partial or completely missing
limbs, mobility impairments,
autism, cerebral palsy, HIV,
multiple sclerosis, muscular
dystrophy, major depressive
disorder, bipolar disorder,
PTSD, OCD, and schizophrenia.
In order to be considered for
these services, one must go
through an evaluation process.
The main benefit to this law is
that it protects all Americans
with disabilities. It is also good
for teachers, because they can be
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
ensured that their students are
being protected and cared for
legally.
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
Signed into Law: January
8, 2002
The No Child Left Behind Act
was signed into Law in 2002.
The No Child Left Behind Act
represented students of all needs
of support, race, ethnicity, native
language, disability, income, or
family background. This act
helped to improve all students’
educations across the nation.
The No Child Left Behind Act
ensured students of all varieties
the ability to access education.
The Act pertains to students and
teachers because it ensures that
the students despite their level of
need, will have access to an
education. This also helps
teachers become more culturally
aware because teachers will
have many different types of
people and different types of
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
needs from all their students.
The teachers will learn and grow
to become even better educators.
Finally, the No Child Left
Behind Act helps students,
parents, and teachers become
accountable for their education,
as it allows a focus on the
improvement of education for
all students.
References
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved August 20, 2019, from
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/15-827
Peter W. D. Wright and Pamela Darr Wright. (n.d). Wrightslaw. Retrieved August 20, 2019, from
https://www.wrightslaw.com
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SPECIAL EDUCATION LAWS AND REVISIONS
Chapter 1. Special Education and the Laws That Affect It. (n.d). Retrieved August 20, 2019 from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/116019/chapters/Special-Education-and-the-Laws-That-
Affect-It.aspx
Disability & Education Laws. (2017, July 06). Retrieved August 20, 2019 from
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/laws/
Special Education Caselaw from U.S. Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals and Federal District Courts.
(n.d). Retrieved August 20, 2019 from https://www.wrightslaw.com/caselaw.htm
Special Education Law Library: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004). (n.d).
Retrieved from August 20, 2019 from https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/index.htm
