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The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law by President Bush on January 8, 2000, was designed to give our schools and our country the most groundbreaking education reform in many years. The U.S. Congress thought it was so important that they passed it by overwhelming majorities of Democrats and Republicans. There are four basic education reform principles in NCLB. The first is stronger accountability for results states are responsible for having strong academic standards for what every child should know and learn in reading, math, and science for elementary, middle and high schools. The second is increased flexibility and local control the new law gives all 50 states and every local school district in America greater say in using the federal education dollars they receive every year. The third is expanded options for parents to help their children if they are enrolled in schools chronically identified as in need of improvement. The fourth principle is an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work (Introduction, 2000).
President Bill Clinton signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 17 (IDEA) into law on June 4, 1997. IDEA was intended to provide for the education of children with disabilities. The law is significant in that it provides an individual education program, or IEP, as well as critical civil rights and due process protections for children with disabilities, including students with communication disorders. The focus of IDEA changed from one that merely provided disabled children access to an education, to one that improves results for all children in our education system. The 17 IDEA strengthened the role of parents in educational planning and decision making on behalf of their children (Idea 7, 1997).
On Wednesday, April 10, 2000, the House of Representatives passed H.R.1950, the reauthorization of IDEA, by a vote of 51 to 171. H.R. 150 includes several major changes to the current IDEA law. Under this bill, all students will be treated the same when it comes to discipline, regardless of disabilities (current law allows for the removal of a student with a disability for up to 45 days if the problem behavior involves weapons or drugs). H.R. 1950 is controversial because it rewrites sections of the current law and deletes many provisions that protect the rights of children with disabilities. In spite of the numerous concerns from many quarters about this bill, House authors did not significantly change it and pushed to pass it quickly (IDEA reauthorization, 2000).
The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act adds an unknown wrinkle to what inclusive assessment and accountability systems may look like for students with disabilities. Will it be an add-on, an overlay or the same as that spelled out in No Child Left Behind? In any case, both laws point in the same direction of accountability - outcomes over process, parental options, and use of empirically based teaching methods. These laws together provide a long-awaited opportunity for general educators and special educators to work together to bridge the divide that exists between the two fields. Common areas to both fields that are affected by NCLB include access to core curriculum, opportunity to learn, research-based teaching methodology and data-based decision making.
The House passed legislation that overhauls the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and protections for children with disabilities. Under the House bill, children with disabilities can be expelled for violating codes of conduct without any inquiry into whether the behavior is connected to a disability. Also, parents may not be able to recover attorneys fees when they try to compel states to provide services.
The IDEA has provided education services to millions of students with disabilities since 1975, resulting in their learning the skills to hold a job, live and participate in their communities and become contributing members of society. Some of the negative changes in the reauthorization include
• Eliminating short-term objectives in the Individualized Education Program (IEP). The objectives are benchmarks to hold schools accountable for providing effective services.
• Making three-year IEPs optional for schools and parents. Parents are concerned that schools will seek this option. Three-year IEPs do not provide adequate accountability for measuring the progress of students.
• Not fully funding IDEA or making IDEA funding mandatory. The IDEA has never received the 40 percent federal funding promised by Congress at the laws inception in 1975.
• Requiring states to offer binding arbitration in disputes between parents and schools or other providers. While the arbitration is optional, some families may not understand they cannot appeal a decision of binding arbitration.
• Eliminating Community Parent Resource Centers, organizations that provide services to parents.
• Providing schools with unilateral authority to remove students with disabilities from schools, without considering the relationship of the disability to the behavior.
One area of IDEA which must be strengthened and enforced is that of school accountability. IDEA must be enforced rigorously so that children with disabilities receive FAPE (Free and Appropriate Education). It is that simple. Procedural safeguards must be meaningful and understandable to the typical parent and must be efficient for families and schools. Parents must be provided the tools they need to be active partners in their childrens education. There should be parent advisory councils in special education for all districts. Without such a requirement, schools continually dismiss parents concerns and provide roadblocks to gaining knowledge and becoming empowered at every turn. The reauthorization of IDEA would do well to strengthen the parent involvement piece if parents are meant to be equal and relevant stakeholders.
Schools must also become more assertive and knowledgeable on critical transition periods in a childs life. These students need help to successfully transition from early intervention, from preschool to school, and from school to employment and/or post-secondary education. This latter transition is completely ignored by many schools in this country today.
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