The 45th Anniversary of the IDEA: Meaningful Educational Progress, Not Just Entry to School

Sunday, November 29, 2020

By Ann Siegel

As this is the 45th Anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), I have been thinking about how this law has impacted the lives of the students with disabilities I have advocated for over the past 20+ years. I have witnessed firsthand the impact of providing important appropriate educational services and supports once denied to students with disabilities, prior to the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142), now known as the IDEA. It has always amazed me that a law had to be passed. Why weren’t students with disabilities provided the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers? After all, they are students entitled to a public education. So why would there ever be a time when a child with a disability would be denied the benefit of a free appropriate public education? It is a foreign concept for me to understand that prior to the passage of this law, fewer than half of all children with disabilities were receiving an appropriate education. Children were excluded from school just because they were individuals with disabilities.

So much has changed with the passage of IDEA. Students with disabilities are entitled to receive appropriate instructional programs, supports and services designed to remediate their areas of need, and to make progress commensurate with their abilities. Students will receive an Individual Education Plan, which is drafted as the roadmap to educational supports and services. These plans must be drafted with specificity and implemented with fidelity.

Over my 20+ years of advocacy, I have had the pleasure of watching students who previously struggled receive the appropriate supports and services they need to progress, graduate, and move on to college, vocational training, and employment. I have witnessed students with no meaningful way of communication to gain their voice with the provision of the right assistive and augmentative communication device. I have advocated for students with social/emotional deficits to receive therapeutic services and social skills instruction, which has afforded them the ability to gain the needed coping and skill set to address their social/emotional needs. I have seen so many children’s lives improved with the passage of this Act. Over the years I have been very proud of the accomplishments our students have achieved. I know with the right supports and services all students will flourish.

A Barrier Remains

But even with this law there is still one major barrier to overcome. The biggest obstacle our students face is not due to their disability; rather it is the perception of the impact of their disability. Even 45 years after the passage of the IDEA, we are still facing the same low expectations that necessitated the passage of this law. Low expectations have impeded the implementation of the IDEA and the progress of our students. Our students cannot move forward when individuals still hold on to these outdated and harmful beliefs. Our students are very capable of succeeding in school, and we have high but realistic expectations for their academic progress and growth.

At Disability Rights Florida, we conduct a thorough investigation, which includes reviewing records, interviewing students, parents, and others, and utilizing our professional training and judgment when we advocate for students to receive reasonable, measurable goals. Yet we are still being met with skepticism and resistance. We often hear responses of, “we do not want to set him/her up for failure, we should lower the percentage of goal mastery.” Often it is suggested to lower the goals below what would be considered a typical passing rate. Why shouldn’t we expect meaningful educational progress from our students with disabilities? Why doesn’t everyone expect our students to attain at least 80% mastery?

When a goal is based on data and expected growth commensurate with ability, the student should master the goal. If the student is not making the expected progress, the committee can reconvene to address why progress has not been made. The problem is, when the committee doesn’t truly believe in our children’s ability to learn, they don’t expect reasonable progress. We are not asking to set the student up for failure; we are asking for the committee to believe in our children and support him/her in their journey for success. You truly only fail when you don’t try. When I was a student in school I was not evaluated. No one tested my IQ, processing speed, working memory or executive functioning. I was expected to progress. No one limited my access to education, and nobody questioned whether I would achieve academic success. I was an average student who struggled with math, but I wasn’t denied the opportunity to access my education and we should never for a moment hesitate to provide students with disabilities the same unfettered access.

Ensuring Success Over Failure

We do not “save our students from failure” by not allowing them access and the chance to excel. We ensure their failure by not expecting them to succeed and not providing them a chance. Allowing our students in the school but expecting them not to learn and make meaningful progress is contrary to the intent and purpose of the passage of the IDEA. The IDEA was passed as the answer to years of research and studies which found that students with disabilities were not provided access to appropriate education and a million students were not allowed to attend school. The passage of IDEA was:

to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet the unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living and to ensure that the rights of children with disabilities and parents of such children are protected.  -- 20 U.S.C. 1400(d)(1)

Congress fully intended that students with disabilities would be educated with the high expectations necessary to prepare them to lead productive and independent lives to the maximum extent possible. This should be the goal for all of our students. The IDEA was not meant to only provide entry into school but rather to ensure that our students would make meaningful educational progress. Educational progress is not limited to only the academic domain; it also includes independent functioning, communication, and social/emotional support. This is achieved by providing specially designed instruction, related services, accommodations, and/or modifications, and the use of supplementary aids and services to meet the student’s unique needs.  

As we reflect on all of the progress students with disabilities have made over these past 45 years under the IDEA and celebrate all of the success students with disabilities have made, we still have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us in educating those who do not share the vision of the high expectations of those who drafted the IDEA.