By Jenna Prada, M.Ed

As you prepare to collaborate with your child’s school team, it’s helpful to have an understanding of the context for the laws that govern special education and their implementation.

Special education is governed by two federal laws: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These two laws are undeniably complex, but the promises they make to students are simple: All students are entitled to a free and appropriate education (FAPE), and that should occur in the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible.

These promises are the motivation for any accommodation a school offers your child and should also underpin any requests you make of the school. While no blog post can do this topic justice, here are some facts that often make their way into consultations with families. 

Advocacy: IDEA was passed as a direct result of disability advocates—most notably parents—organizing. While it can be uncomfortable to push for what your child needs, your dedication and time spent advocating for your child make schools better for all students.

Diagnosis: If your child has a qualifying diagnosis, they are eligible for an IEP or a 504 Plan even if they do not need extensive special education services. The idea of FAPE and LRE is that children with neuro-differences must have access to pedagogy that supports them.

Limiting Special Education: The intent of IDEA and LRE is actually to limit special education to very few students and instead build up support in the general education classroom in order to support as many learners as possible there. Many of the accommodations that are recommended for children really do benefit all students in the classroom, and you are also supporting them all by insisting they are applied.

Funding: As you can imagine, meeting every child’s educational needs is expensive. When IDEA was passed, the federal government promised to cover 40% of the additional costs to schools when educating all learners but has consistently only covered about 15% of those costs. This fact has significant ripple effects throughout all school budgeting decisions and significantly impacts the services schools can reasonably provide. If they are to be implemented consistently, proposed accommodations need to be reasonable within these limited budgets.

Jenna Prada, a certified teacher and administrator, is the founder of the Learning Link and the Director of Executive Functioning & Special Education at Private Prep.

Related Smart Kids Topics

• Your Child’s Rights: 6 Principles of IDEA
• Essential Elements of an IEP