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Special Education Compliance Federal Regulations & Laws In November 2004, the United States Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. This is often referred to as IDEA 2004 or IDEIA. This new version of the federal law governing special education became effective July 1, 2005. The U.S. Department of Education has developed a website: Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004. This website was created to provide a "one-stop shop" for resources related to IDEA and its implementing regulations.
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (signed into law by President George Bush on January 8, 2002) became a directive for education reform. Intending to improve reading and math in schools across the United States, the law re-authorized a number of federal programs targeted at education reform.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by Federal agencies, in programs receiving Federal financial assistance, in Federal employment, and in the employment practices of Federal contractors. The standards for determining employment discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act are the same as those used in Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Section 504 states that "no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination” under any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service. Americans with Disabilities Act / ADA Amendments Act of 2008 The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a bill designed to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. The act gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities that are like those provided to individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion, mandated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The law as amended has been rearranged and published by subject matter in the United States Code: I, II, III, and V are under Title 42, at section 12101; Title IV is under Title 47. Note: In September 2008, President Bush signed into law amendments to ADA that are intended to clarify and reiterate who is covered by the law’s civil rights protections. The “ADA Amendments Act of 2008” revises the definition of “disability” to more broadly encompass impairments that substantially limit a major life activity. The amended language also states that mitigating measures, including assistive devices, auxiliary aids, accommodations, medical therapies and supplies (other than eyeglasses and contact lenses) have no bearing in determining whether a disability qualifies under the law. Changes also clarify coverage of impairments that are episodic or in remission that substantially limit a major life activity when active, such as epilepsy or post-traumatic stress disorder. “This bill fulfills the promise of the ADA and greatly increases the number of people eligible for its protections,” stated Senator Tom Harkin, a leading sponsor of the act. Go to http://www.edresourcesohio.org for specific information on
To assist districts with meeting the requirement of providing the procedural safeguards notice to parents in their native language (3301-51-05 (H)(3)), ODE translated this document into the top 10 foreign languages in Ohio: Albanian, Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish,Somali, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, compact disc) by contacting the Center for Instructional Supports and Accessible Materials (CISAM) at the Ohio State School for the Blind. Ohio has a performance plan that evaluates its efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of IDEA Part B and describes how it will improve such implementation. This plan is called the State Performance Plan (SPP). The SPP, submitted every six years, must include measurable and rigorous targets for the 20 indicators identified by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). Each year, Ohio also submits to OSEP an Annual Performance Report (APR) summarizing its performance on the targets identified in the SPP. Ohio’s Office for Exceptional Children (OEC) annually develops a Special Education Profile for each district, displaying the district's performance on SPP indicators. The twenty indicators have been organized into four essential questions to help guide continuous improvement efforts to improve results for children with disabilities.
Based on a summary of indicator performance, districts receive one of the following ratings:
Through its system of general supervision, OEC uses multiple monitoring processes to address and improve district performance on SPP indicators. The method and intensity of the monitoring and the corresponding commitment of district and OEC resources will vary, depending upon the issues under review, OEC priorities, and the district’s performance across indicators. For technical assistance in using a Special Education Profile for continuous improvement planning, contact:
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