A new generation of instructional strategies, validated and implemented through IDEA investments in technology, is changing how teachers teach. For example, computers and other tools can be integrated into ongoing daily instruction to enrich and extend the standard academic curriculum. The technology supports innovative learning experiences, such as challenging students to imagine participating in the American Revolution or other historical events. Teachers can use such technology to support their students in applying previously learned skills and concepts to new situations or looking at events from different perspectives. Thus, instead of dispensing knowledge, teachers enable learning by using technology to individualize the learning experience for each student in their class. (See side bar: Anchored Instruction Techniques.)

The 1997 Amendments to IDEA authorized investments in personnel preparation that continued 40 years of Federal support for training personnel who work with infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families. IDEA monies support training programs at institutions of higher education, state and local education authorities, and other nonprofit agencies and organizations throughout the country.

The Training of Professional Personnel Act of 1959 (PL 86-158) was the first Federal law that supported personnel preparation and training. The impact of the law, which helped train leaders to educate children with mental retardation, was expanded to personnel serving other groups of children with disabilities. For example, Teachers of the Deaf Act of 1961 (PL 87-276) trained instructional personnel for children who were deaf or hard of hearing. Through this early Part D support, more than 30,000 teachers and related specialists had been trained by 1968. A total of 70,000 persons was available to help educate children with disabilities. Thus, Federal Part D investments had helped train about 40 percent of the national workforce in special education at that time.

Today, IDEA projects for personnel preparation are addressing national concerns that all teachers and service providers should be knowledgeable about interventions and practices known to be effective in improving results for children and families. Toward that end, IDEA projects have contributed to major shifts in what teachers teach, as academic curricula have expanded to include not only the "3-Rs," but also instruction on how to organize one’s thoughts, solve complex problems, and learn appropriate behavior and social skills leading to productive citizenship. Similarly, these projects have contributed to changes in how teachers teach. In addition, OSEP has supported the On-Line Academy at the University of Kansas that has placed state-of-the-art learning modules on the Internet, making additional training available to professionals across the country.

Rather than rely mainly on static "chalk-and-talk" learning, where teachers lecture and students passively listen, today’s teachers have changed the dynamic of their classrooms by empowering students to influence their own learning through collaborative dialogues with their teachers and classmates. These IDEA-supported changes have contributed to increased learning and high achievement among all students, including children with disabilities and their non-disabled classmates. (See side bar: Critical Thinking Skills Project.)

IDEA’s ongoing support for a national program of technical assistance and dissemination to improve results for children with disabilities and their families has further enhanced investments in personnel preparation. At present, IDEA-Part D supports more than 40 technical assistance and dissemination projects in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

Deaf-Blind Centers, funded under the Amendments to Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1967 (PL 90-247), were among the first Federal investments in technical assistance and dissemination projects. These Centers, which were part of a national response to children with disabilities caused by the rubella epidemics of 1964, provided extensive diagnostic, educational, and social services. Other early investments included the Regional Resource Centers, also funded under Title VI of ESEA in 1967, which provided staff and facilities for short-term services, such as the children’s diagnosis and temporary residential placement. These Regional Centers also provided long-term consultation on strategic program development and service coordination, including helping to develop and implement programs and services that were available from state and local educational authorities.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, EHA and IDEA have supported the coordination of technical assistance nationally. Today IDEA-Part D supports the Federal Resource Center and six Regional Resource Centers that focus on assisting state education agencies in the systemic improvement of education programs, practices, and policies that affect children and youth with disabilities. IDEA-Part D also supports the collection and dissemination of information about effective practices through national clearinghouses, such as the National Information Center on Children and Youth with Disabilities, the National Clearinghouse for Professions in Special Education, and the National Transition Alliance. Other IDEA technical assistance projects focus on children with disabilities who are of a particular age, such as the National Early Childhood Technical Assistance System, or who have particular special needs, such as the National Technical Assistance Consortium for Children and Young Adults Who are Deaf-Blind. Finally, IDEA-Part D supports technical assistance on emerging national policy concerns, such as the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO), to provide national leadership in monitoring educational results for all students, including students with disabilities.

The 1997 Amendments to IDEA continued the Federal commitment to technical assistance projects that address critical national needs. For example, consistent with the Act’s emphasis on improving results for children and families, IDEA-Part D supports national centers for technical assistance that work directly with local schools and teachers to integrate research-validated practices into classroom instruction. These new centers address such critical issues as improving reading instruction for elementary and middle school students with disabilities, creating effective learning environments to improve student behavior and discipline, transition planning, and supporting teachers in learning about and using technology to individualize student instruction and support high achievement. (See side bar: Schoolwide Discipline Programs.)

Families of children with disabilities are essential partners in developing and implementing effective programs and services for early childhood and special education. Toward that end, today, IDEA-Part D investments support over 90 projects to empower families, including Parent Training and Information Centers (PTICs) in each of the 50 states.

Federal partnerships with families began with early advocacy work on behalf of children with disabilities by The ARC and other family-based organizations in the 1950s. Over the ensuing decades, parents of children with disabilities have been increasingly recognized as their child’s first and best advocates. This recognition has led to numerous IDEA-supported initiatives to empower families to engage in active, working partnerships with the early interventionists, teachers, therapists, and other professionals who work with their children each day.

Over the last 25 years, IDEA research has delineated key principles to guide families and professionals: treat families with respect and give families information, training, respite care, and a family support network. This stream of research has shown that the nature and the quality of partnerships are affected by the degree of congruence between the family’s objectives and those of the service provider.

The 1990 Amendments to IDEA (P.L. 101-476) established the PTIC system nationally. These projects support persons who work directly with families to enable the parents’ full and effective participation with professionals who work with their children with disabilities. Services provided to parents include individual meetings, workshops, and other training sessions. The PTICs also disseminate publications and newsletters to families across the country. The 1997 Amendments to IDEA authorized support for Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs), to support traditionally under-served families, as well as a national center to coordinate PTIC and CPRC activities nationally. (See side bar: Technical Assistance Alliance for Parent Centers.) At present, over 3 million parents of children with disabilities are contacting these IDEA-Part D supported projects each year.

As we move into the 21st century, continuing IDEA-Part D investments can provide Federal leadership to ongoing efforts to empower families of children with disabilities. Part D investments are demonstrating how effective intervention programs can meet the needs of diverse families, including African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans. Such efforts are likely to increase national awareness of the vast differences not only between but also within cultural groups. Such awareness can contribute to improved family-professional partnerships that take into account different family lifestyles and beliefs as effective programs and services for diverse learners are developed across the country.

Accomplishments in implementing IDEA are due, in part, to ongoing efforts to track national progress in increasing access to services and improving results for children with disabilities and their families. Realizing that one characteristic of good research is uncovering future areas of inquiry, Federal policymakers responsible for IDEA-Part D investments have been proactive in supporting numerous national evaluation studies over the last 25 years.

Shortly after passage of Public Law 94-142, BEH developed six policy questions for evaluating the Act. (See side bar: Policy Questions Addressed by IDEA Special Studies.) The Special Studies Program, as well as much of the information contained in the annual reports to Congress on the implementation of Public Law 94-142 and IDEA, were conceptualized within this framework.

During the last 25 years, IDEA special studies have addressed an extraordinarily broad range of implementation and related policy issues. More than 35 special studies have been commissioned to investigate concerns about children, including the accuracy of child-count data submitted by the states, the nature and quality of children’s Individual Educational Programs, and the impact of IDEA on students’ employment and independent living status after high school. These studies also assessed national trends associated with procedures used to prevent the erroneous classification of students with disabilities, decreases in the number of children educated in segregated schools and residential facilities, and the effects of using alternative definitions and terminology in educating children with emotional disturbance.

Current IDEA investments in evaluation continue this history of support for national studies to assess progress. Notable ongoing projects include studies of the transition of children with disabilities after preschool, middle school, and high school; the number and quality of personnel educating these children; the cost of meeting federal requirements for providing a free, appropriate public education for all children with disabilities; and state and local progress in implementing the 1997 Amendments to IDEA. Together, these previous and ongoing evaluation studies will provide the most comprehensive evaluation of the impact of IDEA on children with disabilities.

The 1997 Amendments to IDEA authorized State Improvement Grants (SIGs) to promote statewide systemic reforms that will improve results for children with disabilities. Individual states apply for SIG funds, based on an analysis of their specific needs to improve early intervention, special education, and general education programs. In addition, SIGs must be implemented through a partnership that includes all major stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and local and state education agencies.

Today, SIG monies, authorized under IDEA-Part D, are being used to support both pre-service and in-service professional development activities. For example, states have used SIG monies to develop training systems based on distance learning principles to address personnel shortages and to assist Institutes of Higher Education to expand their capacity to produce special education teachers and early intervention providers. (See side bar: Utah State Improvement Grant.)

Although a great deal of progress has been made, especially in improving access to programs and services for children with disabilities and their families, much work is left to be done. Toward that end, continuing investments in IDEA-Part D programs can play a critical role in strengthening the national infrastructure of support for translating research into improved practice in early childhood and special education.

Our ever-changing society is likely to need further inquiry by IDEA researchers about effective practices that contribute to improved programs and services. There is, in particular, a need to develop and validate practices for diverse learners, including children of different ages, with different types and severity of disabilities, who come from families with different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

Similarly, there is a continuing need to expand and coordinate training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities that support a "pipeline" of research knowledge that leads to improved practice. Such efforts should accommodate differences in circumstances and needs in different states and localities across the country.