Special Education Laws

1. LAWS
By Morgan Roach

2. IDEA: 1975-1990
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
• Education act to provide federal funding to state and local educational agencies for services for
children with disabilities
• Children with disabilities
• Children 3-21, 13 categories
• School based: FAPE, LRE, IEP
• Federal funding
• Evaluation: eligibility, placement

3. 13 Categories
• Developmental delay (DD)
• Multiple disabilities
• Other health impairment (OHI)
• Speech or language impairment
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Intellectual disability or Cognitive impairment
• Orthopedic impairment (0I)
• Learning disability (LD)
• Deaf-blindness
• Visual impairment
• Hearing impairment
• Autism
• Emotional disturbance (ED)

4. ADA: 1990
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Civil Rights law
• Any individuals with a disability
• Community based
• Funding: Grants or Tax credits
• Accommodations: redesigned equipment, assigning “aids”, accessibility, altering facilities

5. Section 504: 1973
• Civil Rights Law
• Any person with a mental or physical disabilities that limits one or more major life activities
(walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, or caring for oneself)
• School based: FAPE
• State/ Local jurisdictions (no real finding)

6. ESSA: 2015
• Every Student Succeeds Act
• builds on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators,
communities, parents, and students across the country
• Ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities
through annual statewide assessments that measure students' progress toward those high
standards

7. Para’s Role
• Work in small groups
• Help take notes
• Read test or quizzes out loud to students who need it
• Take breaks and go on walks to help calm down students
• Provide encouragement