Legal Policies and Procedures to Refer a Student with a Perceived Impairment for Evaluation - Essay Example

The assessments that are done and the parental meetings between school administrations and the family are a central part of helping children gain a good and solid educational experience. The conclusion defines that without the implementation of IDEA many years ago there would still be many children missing out on the right to learn in a public environment. It also concludes that although there are still many issues that need to be worked out it is a positive influence in the educational system and does make a difference for many special needs children and the families.

IDEA was first initiated in 1975 in order to provide all children the right to a public education in the United States (Department of Education 1997). The history can relatively speak for itself because before IDEA's implementation into the educational system there was no place for special needs children and they were left shut out of the school system. Research defines the approximate percentage of young people who were facing disclusion to have been at 1 million and then another 100,000 did not receive the appropriate services that they desperately needed (Department of Education 1997). . Now those with learning disabilities and other special needs have excelled in the public schooling environment and have gone on to colleges and universities all around the world.

They have definitely surpassed what legislators and other policy makers had ever thought they had the ability of achieving so these are all very positive things. When a truly in-depth comparison is done one can see how way back in the seventies when children were often housed in institutions, today they have made great strides. Today, three times the number of children that were in those state institutions have developed the knowledge and social skills to be able to go on to college and many people with several disabilities now have opportunities to work in public environments where beforehand they did not (Department of Education 1997).

Obviously it is remarkable how certain policies and specialized programs can make a difference in thousands of people's lives.The Six Key Components of the Original IDEA When President Ford initially signed this program into the United States Educational system there existed six original components of it that laid out the strategic framework and clearly defined eligibility and other requirements that were a fundamental part of it (Associated Content 2006). The first section of the 1975 IDEA act was titled, "Entitlements and Allocations" (Associated Content 2006).

This area was meant to bring about a way to implement the program into the system in the most logical fashion possible. Many of those that had been involved with the induction of this program had to work to find ways to bring cohesion into the public school system utilizing a humanitarian proposal that allowed for all students