Throughout history, schools have been allowed to exclude certain children, especially those with disabilities. That changed on November 19, 1975. Many issues related to individuals with disabilities were addressed. Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 as Public Law (PL) 94-142. Later the name was changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This legislation was needed to assure that students who had disabilities would be able to receive free, appropriate public education (FAPE) and other related services and support they needed to succeed. IDEA was created to help states and school districts meet their obligations to educate children with disabilities, and to pay part of the extra expenses of doing so. 1
Many students with disabilities prior to this act were provided with an inadequate education or none at all because there was no mandatory special education law. Many states allowed schools to exclude children with disabilities from their mandatory attendance laws. Disabled children were separated from regular education students in the public schools and placed in settings with other children who had disabilities. They were not given the opportunity to interact with their non-di
Congress estimated that it would cost 40 percent more to educate the disabled. When Congress passed IDEA in 1975, they promised to provide the additional 40 percent. Over the years, Federal funds for IDEA have averaged about 12 percent. On average they provide 14.8 percent. 2
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