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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was developed to ensure students with  disabilities are provided with Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) tailored to their needs. IDEA is designed to provide children with disabilities the same opportunity for education as students without disabilities.

IDEA is composed of four parts. Part A covers the general provisions of the law, Part B covers education of all children with disabilities, Part C covers infants and toddlers with disabilities, and Part D is the national support programs administered at the federal level.
Other important elements of IDEA include keeping information confidential, transitioning students to post-high school programs, and taking a child’s disability into consideration when disciplining students.

Key concepts in IDEA are that children with special needs are entitled to:

  • An Individualized Education Program (IEP);
  • A Free and Appropriate Public Education;
  • Education in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE);
  • Appropriate Evaluation;
  • Parent and Teacher Participation, and
  • Procedural Safeguards.

Our Monitoring Programs for IDEA

Fiscal Reviews

Programmatic Reviews
Fiscal reviews of IDEA focus on how federal IDEA funds are spent. Examples of standards to be measured during a fiscal review include whether:
  • IDEA Part B fund expenditures align with the IDEA Part B fund grant application.
  • IDEA Part B funds have been used only for allowable costs, per 2 CFR Part 225.
  • The 15% ISEP set aside for special education has been used for only allowable costs.
  • The school uses IDEA Part B only when the 15% ISEP set aside funds for special education have been completely used, budgeted or obligated.
  • Not more than 15% of IDEA Part B funds are used for Coordinated Early Intervening services (CEIS).
  • The school ensures that its carryover IDEA Part B funds, if any, are claimed or obligated within 27 months or risk losing unspent funds (20 USC 1215).
  • The school completed its IDEA Part B assurances this current year.
Programmatic reviews seek to understand whether a Special Education program is operating as envisioned and required by law. Our programmatic reviews begin by establishing an understanding of the numbers of students with disabilities, the amount and type of resources employed to serve these students, the processes for identifying such students and their needs, and systems for ensuring instruction in the least restrictive environment.

We seek to understand how regular and special education instructional teams are trained and participate in Special Education processes such as development of IEPs, how students are screened for limited English proficiency, whether students are serviced off campus, how students’ disabilities are accommodated and instruction is individualized, the level of communication with parents of Students with Disabilities, as well as compliance with other measures.
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