IDEA Action Center

What IDEA'04 Says...

Effects on Higher Education Community in Communication Sciences and Disorders (02/18/05)
IDEA'04 eliminated the requirement that state education personnel standards meet the highest requirement for a profession or discipline in that state. Under IDEA'97, standards for school-based related services providers must have met the "highest requirement in the state" for a profession or discipline, although waivers were allowed on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis. 

Assistive Technology (02/18/05)
IDEA '04 includes a change to the definition of "assistive technology device." The Congress added an exception to the existing definition as follows: "The term [assistive technology] does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device." The same exact language was also added as an exception to the "related services" definition. 

Birth-to-Six Programs (02/18/05) 
IDEA'04 allows States to combine their Part C early intervention and Part B, Section 619 pre-school grants to offer a unified birth to six program to better serve families of children with special needs and to use Part B and Part C monies to do so.  

Early Intervening Services (02/18/05) 
IDEA'04 allows local educational agencies (LEAs) to use up to 15 percent of its IDEA Part B funds for supportive services to help students in kindergarten through grade 12 not yet identified with disabilities, but who require additional academic and behavioral supports to succeed in a general education environment.

Specific Learning Disabilities (02/18/05)
IDEA '04 retained the definition of specific learning disability as included in previous versions of IDEA since 1975.

Paperwork Reduction/Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) (01/06/05)
In recent ASHA surveys, paperwork has consistently emerged as a top concern for school-based members. ASHA lobbied aggressively Congress to reduce the paperwork burden in the reauthorization of IDEA for related services providers including speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Two major changes related to paperwork requirements-paperwork reduction and modifications to IEPs-are included in the IDEA'04 legislation.

Qualified Providers (01/06/05)
IDEA '04 eliminated the requirement that state education personnel standards meet the highest requirement for a profession or discipline in that state. Under IDEA'97, standards for school-based related services providers must have met the "highest requirement in the state" for a profession or discipline, although waivers were allowed on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis.