The IDEA Amendments of 1997: Implications for Special and General Education Teachers, Administrators, and Teacher Trainers

Abstract

We cannot cover all the detailed changes in this article, nor can we determine exactly how these changes will affect the daily lives of children and youth with disabilities, their parents, and the educators who serve them.Therefore, we will focus on areas of change to the IDEA that concern special educators most directly, including changes in the individualized education program (IEP) process, discipline of students with disabilities, accountability and procedural safeguards.We offer our interpretations of how these changes may affect the education of students with disabilities and set forth recommendations to teachers, administrators, and teacher trainers in meeting the requirements of the IDEA Amendments of 1997. EVALUATIONIn a sense, special education "begins" with the referral and evaluation process that may lead to the provision of services.These activities have been the central concern for many people-educators and parents alike.As such, evaluation is a useful beginning point for our description of the changes found in IDEA.Table 2 contains the IDEA requirements regarding evaluations.