Lillian Michaels

IDEA Video Review

SPED 738-99 Dr. George
July 2, 2014
CELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF IDEA
Before 1975 people with disabilities had virtually no access to mainstream public
education. They were statutorily assigned to institutions where the expectations for them were
minimal and where they had no interaction with non-disabled students. With the passage of The
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, the doors of public education were opened
to disabled students for the first time. That Act required public school systems to provide a free,
appropriate public education to all students, regardless of abilities. The 1986 Amendments to the
Act added authorization for early intervention programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

The 1990's brought about a reauthorization of the Act in the form of the IDEA or
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. One of the principal changes in this version of the
legislation was the addition of transition services for students with disabilities who are moving
from the public education system into jobs or community living situations. Further amendments
in 1997 and 2004 expanded the concept of "access" to include access not only to facilities, but
also to the general education curriculum, and also increased the level of accountability of state
and local governments in terms of making certain that special needs students meet various
standards of achievement in the public school setting.
The legacy of the IDEA and its predecessors has been a dramatic increase in availability
of opportunities for people with disabilities that include not only primary and secondary

education, but also job training, employment and higher education as well. Having attended
public schools in the 1970's and 80"s I can honestly say I don't recall a single classmate who had
obvious special needs in any of the schools I attended. Today's student populations include
people of all abilities, which not only opens doors for disabled individuals, but also, by allowing
those students to interact with students without disabilities, promotes understanding and
acceptance of the individuality of each student.
The most striking thing that I learned from this video was that, prior to 1975, there was
actually legislation in every state mandating that disabled children be segregated in institutions
for their entire lives. I have discussed with other people close to my age the fact that we can't
recall having classmates with disabilities, but it never occurred to me that there were laws that
required those kids to be kept away from the rest of us. It was a little shocking.