5 Special Education VIPs (Very Important Passages)
Expert reviewed by Patricia H. Latham, JD
Understanding your child’s legal rights can help you advocate for them. But legal language can be complex and hard to follow. Here we define key passages from the laws that govern .
1. Free and Appropriate Public Education
“A free appropriate public education is available to all children with disabilities … between ages of 3 and 21, inclusive, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school.”
—Section 612(a)(1) of the (IDEA)
The right to free and appropriate public education means that public schools must provide children “appropriate” educational services without charge. You and the school might not always agree on what’s “appropriate,” though. If that’s the case, you have options.
2. Child Find
“All children with disabilities … regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special education and , are identified, located, and evaluated.”
—Section 612(a)(3) of IDEA
This passage is called Child Find. It calls for public schools to look for and evaluate kids who could have disabilities. The school has a legal duty to figure out which children need special education services.
3. Least Restrictive Environment
“To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities … are educated with children who are not disabled, and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal … from the regular educational environment occurs only when … education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.”
—Section 612(a)(5) of IDEA
This provision is called the . It means that before the school can remove a child from a general education class, they must try to help him by providing aids and services. Find out more about what this means.
4. Procedural Safeguards
“[Schools] shall … ensure that children with disabilities and their parents are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education.”
—Section 615(a) of IDEA
Procedural safeguards are also known as legal rights or protections. They cover children with disabilities and their parents. The safeguards include things like: the right to participate in meetings about your child; the right to examine your child’s records; and the right to have written notice when the school proposes to change your child’s services.
5. Freedom From Exclusion and Discrimination
“[No] individual with a disability … shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program … receiving Federal financial assistance.”
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It’s illegal for people with disabilities to be discriminated against in any school that receives federal government money. That includes public schools and some private schools.
