INTRODUCTION

The National Education Association has a long and proven history of advocating for appropriate educational opportunities for all students, and NEA has strongly supported educating students with disabilities within the nation's public schools since the 1975 passage of the original federal special education law (PL 94-142). Nonetheless, meeting the challenge of educating students with disabilities alongside their nondisabled peers has never been easy.

In the mid-1990s, after nearly twenty-five years of "mainstreaming" and "inclusion," a complex political and emotional atmosphere surrounded congressional attempts to reauthorize the federal special education law, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Many believed that IDEA was a good law that needed strengthening, some thought the legislation should be left alone, and others thought it should be eliminated completely. Within this atmosphere, Congress began designing the new law. As both the Senate and the House drafted their versions, it quickly became apparent that this would be a highly contentious effort.

At this critical point in the process, NEA helped bring together a diverse group to develop a unified proposal. Among the groups represented were the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of School Administrators, the Association of Retarded Citizens, the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities, the Council of Great City Schools, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Parents Network on Disabilities, the National School Boards Association, and other interested parties. Over several days of discussion, this unique coalition was able to develop a set of principles that became the framework for the final version of the law.

The final document was a testament to compromise. As in any compromise, however, no one group got everything it wanted. While some of the changes were not as extensive as NEA members may have hoped, they did represent major movement in key areas that included:

• Student discipline

• Professional development

• Role of general education teachers

• Health services

• Paperwork reduction

• Litigation costs

• Federal funding

• Graduation standards

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 became the first major reauthorization of IDEA since 1975. Since its passage, it has served as a base for minimum requirements, but some states and local districts have added extra requirements to the new law's provisions. Some states have revised their state statues to comply with the federal law; some have not.

This book aims to help NEA members who are charged with implementing the provisions of IDEA '97 by:

• clarifying what the federal law actually says. (NEA members should check with their state officials to determine whether their state laws or regulations provide greater protection to students with disabilities.)

• correcting myths and misinformation about what IDEA '97 does and does not mandate.

• informing NEA members about how to be active participants in developing their students' programs.

• recommending how NEA members may creatively address specific difficulties they may encounter.

• suggesting how school teams can develop innovative programs to meet student needs.

• leading NEA members to additional resources.

We believe that IDEA '97 can be a catalyst to help NEA members advocate for their students, themselves, and their colleagues. We hope the information in this book will help all of us provide appropriate educational opportunities to all of our students.

Ed Amundson

Chair, NEA Caucus for Educators of Exceptional Children
NEA Cross-Unit Work Team on IDEA and Special Education

Patti Ralabate

NEA Caucus for Educators of Exceptional Children
NEA Cross-Unit Work Team on IDEA and Special Education
The New IDEA Survival Guide