It’s gone largely unnoted but Congress has re-authorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):
Congress approved and sent to the White House yesterday an update of special-education requirements that eases pressure on teachers while increasing enforcement of high standards for the disabled.
The bill would be the first major revision to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act in seven years. The law promises a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment to more than 6.7 million children with special needs.
The House passed it 397 to 3, and the Senate approved it by voice vote. President Bush was expected to sign it. That would allow Congress to take credit for a significant, bipartisan schools bill before the new year, when its membership will change and a heavy agenda of education issues awaits.
Changes in the new legislation include paperwork reduction, stronger enforcement, and more flexibility for schools. In what may prove to be one of the more controversial provisions the bill allows states and school districts to recover legal fees if a parent’s complaint is deemed frivolous. In my opinion this is a needed reform to level the playing field. Since the enacting of the previous law it’s been possible for determined (and well-to-do or legally connected) parents to get pretty nearly anything they want using legal strong-arm techniques particularly threat of suit. The new law may reduce this and let districts spend their limited funds on actually teaching kids rather than paying legal fees.
