WHAT CLASSROOM TEACHERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IDEA '97

Kappa Delta Pi Record, Winter 2005 by Patterson, Karen

General education teachers play an integral role in educating students with disabilities and should be familiar with the applicable principles of the law.

Special education teachers are not the only ones who need to know about laws and policies regarding students with disabilities. In the general classroom setting, informed teachers can deliver necessary and appropriate services to students with special needs, while at the same time work toward successful outcomes for those children, their peers, and their parents.

Knowing about the origin, implementation, and relevance of the laws as they relate to students is an important responsibility for all classroom teachers. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA '97), signed into law on June 4, 1997, by President Clinton, amended and reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The 1997 provisions of the law have been called the most significant changes in federal special education law since the original passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children ACL of 1975 (Eyer 1998; Yell and Drasgow 2000; Yell and Katsiyannis 2000). Integral to the implementation of IDEA '97 are six fundamental principles that the federal government emphasizes as being critical features of special education programs offered to children and youth with disabilities (U.S. Department of Education 2000): a free and appropriate public education; an individualized education program; the least restrictive environment; appropriate evaluations; parent and student participation in decision making; and procedural safeguards.

Free and Appropriate Public Education

Students are entitled to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE).

IDEA '97 defines FAPE as special education and related services that are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; meet standards of the state educational agency; include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary school education in the state involved; and are provided in conformity with the individualized education program (IDEA 1997, 1401(8); Yell and Drasgow 2000). While primary responsibility for adhering to FAPE lies with the school districts, classroom teachers should know the procedural and substantive requirements. FAPE guarantees every student with a disability an individualized education program-most often delivered by the classroom teacher-that is reasonably calculated to provide meaningful educational benefits (Yell and Drasgow 2000).

Individualized Education Program

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is required for each child with a disability to ensure that services are specific and individualized for their needs.

Prior to the mandates of IDEA, families of children with disabilities were alone in their burden of educating and caring for their children with disabilities (Werts, Mamlin, and Pogoloff 2002). IDEA '97 requires that an IEP be developed and implemented for every student with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21 (U.S. Department of Education 2000). The IEP, which describes both the process and resulting document that defines a FAPE for a student, is the centerpiece of the special education process. The law not only specifies what an IEP must include, but also who is to take part in its formulation (U.S. Department of Education 2000). In collaboration, school personnel and a student's parents design the appropriate educational program. As a result, the individualized education and related services that a student in special education receives are delineated in, and provided in conformity with, the IEP (Yell and Drasgow 2000).

A major goal of the IEP meeting is to form a partnership among parents, teachers, and service providers. To achieve this goal, teachers must be able to make critical decisions regarding the IEP process in addition to communicating effectively with families during the IEP meeting. The formation of an individualized program involves seven steps, beginning with prereferral and ending with an annual evaluation of the student's program.

Prereferral. The prereferral intervention is an informal, problemsolving process with two primary purposes: to provide immediate instructional and behavior management assistance to the child and teacher; and to reduce the chances of identifying a child for special education who may not be disabled (Salvia and Ysseldyke 1988). This process is a critical component of the early identification process. The classroom teacher often is one of the first to recognize a developmental problem (e.g., reading difficulties, or disruptive or aggressive behavior). For young children at risk for learning and emotional or behavioral problems, Lane, Gresham, and O'Shaughnessy (2002) recommended proactive screening in preschool and kindergarten, and again in later grades.

Prereferral interventions both reduce the chances of over-identifying children for special education and increase opportunities for children who truly require services to be identified. Parental consent must be obtained for initial and all subsequent evaluations and placement decisions regarding special education. The decisions made during this process are significant, and the classroom teacher's response remains the most crucial step. The teacher's role as implementer of prereferral strategies cannot be overestimated (Sindelar et al. 1992); the teacher influences placement and possible life-altering changes for students.