The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Selected Changes that Would be Made to the Law by S. 1248, 108th Congress

Publication Date: May 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Education

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Abstract:

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorizes federal funding for the education of children with disabilities and requires, as a condition for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE). The statute also contains detailed due process provisions to ensure the provision of FAPE. Originally enacted in 1975, the act responded to increased awareness of the need to educate children with disabilities, and to judicial decisions requiring that states provide an education for children with disabilities if they provided an education for children without disabilities.

IDEA has been amended several times, most recently and most comprehensively by the 1997 IDEA reauthorization, P.L. 105-17. Congress is presently examining IDEA again and H.R. 1350, 108th Congress, passed the House on April 30, 2003, by a vote of 251 to 171. In the Senate, S. 1248 was introduced by Senators Gregg and Kennedy and referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on June 12, 2003. The bill was reported out of committee by a unanimous vote on June 25, 2003 (S.Rept. 108-185) and placed on the Senate legislative calendar under general orders on November 3, 2003. Currently, S. 1248 is scheduled for the Senate floor the week of May 10, 2004. This report discusses selected changes that S. 1248, as reported, would make in IDEA. It will be updated as necessary. For a discussion of the House bill, see CRS Report RL31830.