Reauthorization of the IDEA 2004

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the primary federal program that authorizes state and local aid for special education and related services for children with disabilities. On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, a major reauthorization and revision of IDEA. The new law preserves the basic structure and civil rights guarantees of IDEA but also makes significant changes in the law. Most provisions of Public Law (PL) 108-446 go into effect on July 1, 2005. The requirements regarding “highly qualified” special education teachers became effective immediately upon signature.

• Regulations
• Statute
• Technical Assistance Tools
• California Statute Changes
• Resources
• Training

Regulations

• Final Regulations to Implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) (PDF; Outside Source)
  The U.S. Department of Education (ED) published in the Federal Register on
  August 14, 2006, the final regulations to implement the IDEA 2004 and became effective on October 13, 2006.

Statute: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended in 2004, PL 108-446, 20 USC 1400 et seq.

• Full text of IDEA Statute, December 3, 2004 (PDF; Outside Source)
• General Table of Contents (Structure of the law):
  
  • TITLE I - Amendments To The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

    Part A - General Provisions Findings Highly qualified special education teacher definition (Title I, Part A, Section 602(10)
    Part B - Assistance For Education Of All Children With Disabilities

    • Main section of the act describing special education services and procedural safeguards.

    Part C - Infants And Toddlers With Disabilities
    Part D - National Activities To Improve Education Of Children With Disabilities

    • Section 1450 Findings
    • Subpart 1 - State Personnel Development Grants, sections 1451-1455
      • Request for Proposal (RFP) for the State Personnel Development Grant (Outside Source) This is the second RFP, June 9, 2006, for this new federal grant competition. It is anticipated that the ED will post new RFPs as each annual competition is announced.
        
    • Subpart 2 - Personnel preparation, technical assistance, model demonstration projects, and dissemination of information
  • TITLE II - National Center For Special Education Research
  • TITLE III - Miscellaneous Provisions Effective dates (Title III - Miscellaneous Provisions, Section 1400 Note

• Order print version of the IDEA, as amended in 2004, from
  • www.gpoaccess.gov (Outside Source)
  • Government Printing Office
    Superintendent of Documents
    P.O. Box 37195
    Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954
    888-293-6498

Technical Assistance Tools

A listing of the Technical Assistance and Dissemination Network (Outside Source) funded by OSEP, model forms released with the final IDEA regulations, topic briefs, frequently asked questions, Official Policy Documents on the Education of Infants, Toddlers, Children and Youth with Disabilities from OSEP, and other related resources.

• Topic Briefs (Outside Source)
  OSEP has developed a series of topic briefs around several high-interest areas of IDEA. Topic briefs include a summary of all relevant statutory language around that topic, the citations and a cross-reference, when applicable, to other related briefs.
• Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities (Outside Source, Apr-2006)
  Research briefs, technical assistance, and information for improving instruction, assessment and accountability for students with disabilities. (Apr-2006)
• Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, ESEA Title II, Part A Non-Regulatory Guidance (PDF, Outside Source, Revised 05-Oct-5, 2006)
  This Non-Regulatory Guidance explains how State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and State agencies for higher education can effectively and correctly use Title II, Part A funds to ensure that all teachers are qualified and effective.

  This revised guidance, now issued separately from the guidance on Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT), does not depart significantly from the previous version, August 3, 2005. The portion of the guidance that covers HQT is under revision and will be released in the near future.
  

California Statute Changes, October 7, 2006

Legislation will be introduced during the 2007 state legislative session to align California Education Code to the final IDEA regulations. More information will be posted here in the upcoming months.

• State Assembly Bill 1662 (Lieber and Daucher) makes changes to California special education statutes to bring them into harmony with federal changes enacted through the 2004 reauthorization IDEA. The bill was signed by the Governor on October 7, 2005.
• California Special Education Programs: A Composite of Laws Database (Outside Source)
  Education Code, Part 30, Other Related Laws and California Code of Regulations, Title 5.

Resources:

• Conference Report on HR 1350, "Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004" (Outside Source)
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Analysis of Changes Made by P.L. 108-446, Congressional Research Service Analysis of New IDEA Law - January 5, 2005 (PDF, Outside Source)
  This report detail the changes made by P.L. 108-446 covering all parts of IDEA but concentrates on Part B, which authorizes grants for children with disabilities ages three to twenty-one and contains key provisions regarding the structure of special education and related services and the procedural safeguards that guarantee the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to children with disabilities.
• National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) (Outside Source)
  A side-by-side comparison of current law to the IDEIA of 2004 is available to purchase or free to download.
• Council on Exceptional Children (CEC) (Outside Source)
  Latest information on the reauthorization of the IDEA 2004 including summary and analysis of the new IDEA, press releases on the bill, and a link to the bill itself.
• Highly Qualified Teachers Improving Teacher Quality, State Grants, ESEA Title II, Part A Non-Regulatory Guidance, August 3, 2005 (Outside Source)
  This Guidance also includes questions on highly qualified teacher flexibility policies, revisions to and expansions of answers to several questions, revisions to the deadline by which paraprofessionals must become highly qualified, and new information on highly qualified special education teachers that results from the reauthorization of the IDEA. This Guidance is under revision and will be released in the near future by the ED.
• What Constitutes a Highly Qualified Special Education Teacher Under The IDEIA of 2004 (PDF; Outside Source)
  NASDSE and the National Education Association (NEA) have prepared a flow chart to describe the highly qualified teacher provisions in the new IDEIA, P.L. 108-446.

Training:

• IDEA Regulation Training
  • Community-Based Public Meetings -- IDEA 2004 Part B Final Regulations (Outside Source)
    Sacramento, California, Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 5:30-9:30 pm
    To provide the public with an overview of the regulations, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) will be hosting a series of community-based public meetings.
  • Alexa Posny's, OSEP Director, Presentation at Community-Based Public Meetings (Outside source)
  • Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities (Outside Source, Apr-2006)
    Research briefs, technical assistance, and information for improving instruction, assessment and accountability for students with disabilities. (Apr-2006)
  • IDEA Final Regulations - Free Webcast Training
    The California Department of Education (CDE) sponsored a free, one day Web cast training for special education and general education personnel. The Web cast, live videocast delivered via the Internet, provided information on the final federal regulations implementing the IDEA, as amended in 2004. Art Cernosia, Esq., a noted expert in federal special education law and regulations, was the trainor.
• IDEA Statute Training
  • The Reauthorized IDEA and Significant Judicial Decisions Training April 21-22, 2005
    This California Department of Education sponsored training provides highlights on the new changes enacted by the recent reauthorization of the IDEA, as amended in December 2004. Art Cernosia, Esq., noted expert in federal special education laws and regulations, provided the training and gave his permission to make the training outline (PDF; Outside Source) and PowerPoint presentation (PPT; Outside Source) available.
    
    A digital video disc (DVD) of the entire two-day IDEA 2004 training was sent to each Director of a Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). Contact the SELPA Director for access or copies of this DVD.
  • Response to Intervention (Rtl): Policy Considerations and Implementation Order Form (PDF; Outside Source)
    This resource provides policy and implementation options for RtI. The book grounds RtI in law and policy predating IDEA 2004 in addition to walking the reader through the array of implementation issues
  • Response to Intervention (RtI): Training for California Educators Web cast Series (Outside Source; Spring 2006)
    Provides information on implementing a multi-tier RtI system aligned with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that is designed to improve child academic and behavioral outcomes including handouts and materials.
  • IEP Web Module
    This self-paced web training module is currently updated to the IDEA as amended in 2004, provides information on how to write Individualized Education Program goals tied to standards, student focused, and measurable.