What is IDEA?
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was signed on June 4, 1997, by President Bill Clinton. This was the first major revision to the Act in more than 23 years (since the enactment of P.L.94-142, the Education of all Handicapped Children Act of 1975). This law guarantees all children with disabilities access to a free and appropriate public education. This Act strengthens academic expectations and accountability for the nation's 5.8 million children with disabilities and bridges the gap that has too often existed between what children with disabilities learn and what is required in regular curriculum. The federal regulations under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) were finalized on March 12, 1999. IDEA 97 Final Regulations Major Issues - A memo written by Barbara Gantwerk, Director of the NJ Office of Special Education Programs clarifies implementation of the new requirements, particularly in the areas of discipline and the role of the regular education teacher in individualized education program (IEP) meetings these areas and to provide you with a copy of information prepared by the United States Department of Education (USDOE) as additional guidance. The first document summarizes the major issues related to the federal regulations, and the second document focuses on discipline. The New Jersey Special Education Administrative Code was amended prior to the finalization of IDEA and addressed the statutory requirements. The majority of the new federal regulatory requirements are already addressed in code and are currently being implemented. In May 1996, the NJ State Board of Education adopted the Core Curriculum Content Standards (CCCS). They represent the knowledge and skills that New Jersey students are expected to know and be able to do by the time they graduate from high school. The CCCS were developed to define what students, including students with disabilities, should know and be able to do. They were not designed as a curriculum guide, but as a "road map" for the development of challenging general education curricula by local school districts. The CCCSSSD (Core Curriculum Content Standards for Students with Severe Disabilities) are a selected set of the NJCCCS, with modified cumulative progress indicators, that focus on the educational needs of students with significant cognitive disabilities who are learning fundamental daily living skills. The CCCSSSD is a "pdf" file (use Adobe Reader): it is the basis of the Alternate Proficiency Assessment, which will be the statewide assessment for students with severe disabilities. A guide for initial implementation of the CCCSSSD, with frequently asked questions, has been developed by the NJ Special Education Department. This is helpful and should answer many questions educators and parents may have. New Jersey State Resources on the Web Site of the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) is a list of some of the statewide organizations and act as a source for locating addresses and telephone numbers for the various groups. Additional Resources EA
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