Overview of Special Education Law
Get the basics on the individualized education program (IEP) and your child's rights to special education.
Special education laws give children with disabilities and their parents important rights not available to children in regular education. Specifically, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) gives families of special education children the right to:
- have their child assessed or tested to determine their special education eligibility and needs
- inspect and review school records relating to their child
- attend an annual "individualized education program" (IEP) meeting and develop a written IEP plan with representatives of the local school district, and
- resolve disputes with the school district through an impartial administrative and legal process.
Eligibility Under IDEA
Every school district is legally required to identify, locate, and evaluate children with disabilities (20 U.S.C. §1412(a)(3)). After the evaluation, a disabled child may be provided with specific programs and services to address his or her special needs.
IDEA defines "children with disabilities" as individuals between the ages of three and 22 with one or more of the following conditions:
- mental retardation
- hearing impairment (including deafness)
- speech or language impairment
- visual impairment (including blindness)
- serious emotional disturbance
- orthopedic impairment
- autism
- traumatic brain injury
- specific learning disability, or
- other health impairment
(20 U.S.C. §1401(3); 34 C.F.R. §300.8).
For your child to qualify for special education under IDEA, it is not enough that he has one of these disabilities. There must also be evidence that your child's disability adversely affects his educational performance.
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