Individuals With Disabilities Edcation Act (IDEA) for Children with Tourette Syndrome

In the middle of 1960 and 1975, the US Congress, state legislatures and federal courts have come up with educational rights for children with disabilities. They have passed laws encouraging and/ or funding programs in special education. The Public Law 94- 142 in 1975 which was originally introduced in 1971 is now named the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA has a primary purpose of creating rights for children with disabilities. This law together with ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act which was passed in Congress in 1990 have been the two main bodies for litigation during the past years.

Consequently the IDEA provides many specific procedural protections for the parents of children with disabilities. These safeguards are spelled out in the US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34, Subtitle B. Chapter 3, Part 300. Some advocated said that these safeguards were poorly enforced at that time.

In 2004, IDEA was reauthorized to also serve children with Tourette Syndrome. The changes that were done were made effective last July 1, 2005. And these changes include

• short term goals will no longer be required on the Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) except those children under "No Child Left Behind" assessment ( or those with severe cognitive disabilites)
• flexible IEP meetings particularly alternative attendance such as by telephone or video conferencing
• three year IEPs to meet evolving needs of the child
• discipline as schools will not only provide support for academic purposes but also in terms of behavioral and functional goals which are very important for children with TS
• "Stay Put"- the right of the student to remain in the current placement has been eliminated, parents can now appeal for placement changes for their child
• early and positive intervention
• professional development- personnel who will work with children with disabilities should improve their academic and functional performances
• collaboration relationship- there is a greater focus to train parents and schools to use collaboration techniques
• transition services to focus not just on academic achievement but also on functional development
• the "specific learning disability" can no longer be required only on the aspect of academic achievement and IQ score
• schools will be prohibited from requiring that the child be under medication as a condition when attending school, recieving services or evaluation purposes
• schools may use 15% of IDEA's funding if the child requires more academic and behavioral support
• evaluations must not focus on the academic achievement of the child but also on developmental and functional abilities

See the more comprehensive summary of the new law.

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Source:

Martin et. al., Special Education for Students with Disabilities, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1996

Tourette Syndrome Association, USA