Improvement of the Education for Children with Disabilities

In the past thirty years, education for children with disabilities has improved greatly. I believe that these improvements have helped to improve the quality of the lives of children with disabilities. In 1975, the Congress passed the Public Law 94-142, Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) and it required public schools to provide free education in the least restrictive environment for all children with disabilities between the ages of three and twenty-one (Pardini). Today the law is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and has been expanded to include infants, toddlers and their families. Improvements have also been made to include more services.

When the Education for All Handicapped Children Act regulations were enacted, a requirement was also included that school districts would evaluate their policies and stop discriminatory practices, but Congress later noted it was illegally ignored (U.S. Department of Education). Children with all different types of disabilities were put into a hidden location away from the children without disabilities. I believe that today adults are more educated about children with disabilities and the children are being included into classrooms with children that do not have disabilities. These children are included in the same daily activities and accommodations are made according to the child's Individualized Education Plan.

In 1975 the Individualized Education Plan was also started, which is a contract between the parents and school staff on what services the student with disabilities will receive. Services included physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychological services, audio and visual services, social work, and transportation. Depending on the parents' income, these services are at little to no cost to them. The federal government promised that they would pay 40% of the cost to educate children with disabilities (Pardini). Today this program is still used by public schools and now it is believed by specialist that the earlier children receive services the more they will benefit. As of today, the federal government has never paid more than 15% of the total cost and the state and local districts covered the rest (Pardini).

The Individualized Education Plan was first developed in a meeting that included a representative from the local educational agency, a teacher, parent, and in some