Author Michael Wehmeyer began his career in special education shortly after the passage of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA). In those early days, he recounts, students with disability were mostly segregated from other children, and many of the adults…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has deep roots in the civil rights movement; however, the legislation, as currently applied, has done little to address racial inequities in services students with disabilities receive. Too often, schools, districts, and states focus on complying with the regulations, while failing to make necessary…

The prevalence rate of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has grown dramatically, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires educators to use evidence-based practices to improve academic and/or behavior outcomes for children with ASD. There is definitive scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of applied behavior…

Prior to the mid-1970s, over one million children with disabilities were excluded from the nation's schools. In 1975, as a result of intense litigation and advocacy, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA, P.L. 94-142), now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), mandating that public schools…

A court case involving a student classified as a child with a disability and her battle to be named valedictorian of her graduating class. Questions the district's determination that this gifted student needed special education and the grade inflation indicated by undue competition for the extra thousandth of a point GPA. (Contains 11 references.)…

Analyzes Indiana case involving a school district's efforts to obtain a limited education guardianship and the medical records for a 16-year-old special-education student whose mother refused to cooperate in the development of an IEP. The state appellate court reversed the trail court's decision granting the district's requests. Discusses…

Parents whose learning-disabled son committed suicide after being suspended (without notice) sued the school district for violating the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and their 14th Amendment due-process rights. They won summary judgment on the IDEA claim, but lost the school liability claim. The case will be retried. (MLH)

Compared to students from affluent public and prep schools, few inner-city students receive extra time or other accommodations when taking high-stakes tests. The growth in "false positives" among affluent youth may partly stem from nonspecific definitions under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Fairness is being…

Summarizes a case involving a district's alleged violation of a neurologically impaired student's rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504). The Third Circuit Court ruled that IDEA's "stay-put" rule did not excuse the district from developing a timely individualized…

In reversing an expulsion order for a high-school student suffering from (undiagnosed) ADD, a federal district court judge has limited schools' ability to punish students with disabilities for serious offenses like vandalism. Nondisabled culprits escaped expulsion by withdrawing from school. All three boys were criminally prosecuted. (MLH)

Discusses Nebraska case involving efforts by parents to seek redress in federal court for their emotionally impaired daughter's difficulties with her band teacher; the parents claimed violation of the 14th Amendment, federal disabilities statutes, and state common law. Explains why the federal district court and Eighth Circuit rejected the…

A protracted case involving a high-achieving ADHD student who was judged eligible for Section 504 assistance, but not for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act assistance, demonstrates confusing overlaps between programs, problems with overidentifying students as disabled, and the high costs of "legalizing" special education.…

In September 1997, the Ridgewood, New Jersey, school district placed J.N., then age 11, in the Windsor School, per the IEP (individualized education program) team's identification of his special needs for structure, safety, and security. As a state-approved private special education school, Windsor signed an agreement with Ridgewood for the…

Adam Coolidge lives with his parents in the Riverdale Local School District, which is in rural northwestern Ohio. In spring 1996, prior to enrolling Adam in kindergarten, his parents met with district representatives to discuss moving him from an early intervention program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). His…