Department Issues IDEA Regulations

By Joetta L. Sack

Washington

Schools have slightly more leeway to discipline disruptive students with disabilities under long-awaited regulations for the nation's main special education law, released by the Department of Education last Friday.

While the unveiling officially ends the five-year process of overhauling the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the final rules may yet inspire new proposals by Republican lawmakers who contend that the IDEA has become too rigid and expensive for states and districts.

Late last week, the Senate approved a bill to expand the "Ed-Flex" program that included a Republican amendment that would allow districts to use their share of $1.2 billion in federal class-size-reduction aid...