Basically,
this is the law that insures that every student with a disability or who
is suspected of having a disability is entitled to a free appropriate
public education (FAPE). Each
State also has a counterpart to the IDEA that governs how FAPE will be
implemented. It is a
combination of the federal law, federal regulation, state law, state
regulation and court rulings that control the educational rights of
children with disabilities from age 3 to 21.
Other
Laws that Effect Students’ with
Disabilities
These
laws cover individuals with disabilities of all ages. The key difference to keep in mind while applying these laws
is that the IDEA’s focus is to correct or lessen the effect the
disability has on the student’s learning while section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (§ 504) and the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) are non-discrimination laws.
In short IDEA is targeted at correcting deficits that interfere
with learning and § 504 and the ADA insure that individuals with
disabilities are not discriminated against because of their disabilities.
The IDEA does not usually apply after high school.
Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (§ 504) (20
U.S.C. 1405; 29 U.S.C.
794.)
In
1975, several civil rights regulations were added to the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. These provisions can be found in Section 504 (Equal
Opportunities) which specifically states: "No otherwise qualified
individuals with handicaps in the United States, as defined in section
7(8), shall, solely by reason of the handicap, be excluded from the
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial
assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive
agency or by the United States Postal Service".
The
two key components are essentially that 1) programs are accessible to
students with disabilities. Accessibility includes the elimination of
policy barriers, the provision of auxiliary aids such as readers and
interpreters, and the provision of equal educational services and programs
to disabled and non-disabled students.
And 2) that in examinations or other procedures for evaluating
students' academic achievements, institutions shall best ensure that
the results of the evaluation represent the student's achievement in the
course, rather than a student's impaired skills (except where such skills
are the factors being measured)
The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
(42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq.)
The
ADA requires § 504 type non-discrimination practices across the Unites
States, not just recipients of Federal funding.
The law is divided into three parts.
Title I covers Employment. Title
II covers governments and States, basically mirroring § 504.
Title III covers Public Entities, which includes colleges and
educational institutions.
What
makes the ADA ground braking is that the law creates affirmative duties
that both public and private entities must comply with.
Although several recent Supreme Court rulings have weakened the
enforcement provisions and narrowed the definition of a disability, the
law is still an effective tool in the arsenal of tools used to protect
the rights of individuals with disabilities.
View
a Comparison
Reference Chart of
IDEA, 504 & ADA
