The Theoretical Understanding & Practical Application of Special Education Law: Part 1

Recently, I had the privilege of presenting on the topic of special education law to a group of school teachers and administrators. It is important to approach this topic with the following foundational understanding:

General education is not mutually exclusive from special education. Many children with disabilities go through school with their disabilities undiagnosed or improperly identified. These children might simply present as students who struggle to self-organize. Their grades might slip without them ever failing enough to be noticed. They may develop anxiety or oppositional behaviors as adolescents, stemming from their difficulty with seemingly simple academic tasks. 

It’s often the case of “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” The children who suffer in silence usually remain in mainstream classrooms, quietly struggling with their subject matter, disconnected from the services that would help them succeed. As a result, whether they realize it or not, General Ed teachers should expect to teach many students with disabilities (SWD) during their careers. 

Critical Court Cases

The following court cases and their outcomes have significantly affected education and special education in the United States.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954): The Supreme Court held that racial segregation in schools violated equal protection under the laws, which is guaranteed by the United States Constitution. This decision underscored how fundamental education is to equality of opportunity, a thread that would run through the disabilities advocacy that would follow over the next half-century. 

Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Children v. Pennsylvania (1972): A state statute authorized the Pennsylvania Board of Education to ignore those children who were considered:

• “Uneducable and untrainable”;

• Not to have attained a mental age of five years; or

• Unable to profit from education.

After litigating up to the Supreme Court, the parties entered into a “consent decree;” they agreed to drop the lawsuit on certain conditions and with the approval of the Court. The protections set out in the consent decree would later be used as a model when Congress drafted the EAHCA (Education of all Handicapped Children Act) in 1975.

The 14th Amendment

The United States Constitution’s 14th Amendment formed the legal backdrop for both those cases. It prohibits states from: 

• Limiting the rights of its citizens;

• Depriving anyone of due process, equal treatment, protections of other amendments; and

• Denying any citizen equal treatment of law.

There is also a right to due process and equal protection as it relates to education; however, no right to education itself is part of the Constitution. In order to establish and safeguard the right to education, Congress passed the EAHCA (later renamed the IDEA). 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The IDEA is based on Congress’ spending power. Under the Act, Congress offers money to go into each states’ education budgets. If a state accepts the federal money, then that state is required to comply with IDEA and provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children with disabilities. 

All states now accept IDEA money, but this was not always the case. For some time, states turned down federal money to protect their educational autonomy and, by extension, their lack of accountability when it came to educating students with disabilities. However, at this time, all states accept federal funds through IDEA.

The purpose of IDEA is to:

• Provide FAPE that emphasizes special education and related services;

• Protect the rights of children and parents;

• Help States and local educational agencies provide education and early intervention to children with disabilities;

• Improve educational rights for children with disabilities; and

• Assess and ensure effectiveness of education.

Fundamentally, the IDEA is not about the 3Rs: reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmatic. It’s about creating good citizens. It’s about meeting children with disabilities where they are and teaching them in the ways they can learn best.

With this historical and legal background, we will explore the implementation of the IDEA in school districts in our next blog post.     

Contact me with your questions.

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Jonathan Gottlieb
Partner
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Jonathan@GottliebFirm.com
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