Education

Federal File

October 11, 2000 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Happy Birthday, IDEA: Fans of the main federal law on students with disabilities came together on Capitol Hill last week to celebrate the law’s upcoming 25th birthday.

President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-142, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, on Nov. 29, 1975. Representatives from the Department of Education and Congress, along with disability-rights advocates and current special education students, convened last Thursday to discuss the law’s impact and the work ahead.

“We’re in a different place today,” declared Judith E. Heumann, the department’s assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services. “Certainly, we see that good things are going on for disabled children, but there are still many cases where this isn’t happening appropriately.”

Two of the main lobbyists for what was originally called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act moderated the half-day event. Joseph Ballard, who is now retired from the Council for Exceptional Children, and Paul Marchand, the chairman of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, couldn’t help but reminisce when they saw each other at the Senate snack bar last week, as they had many times in 1975.

“It was déjà vu all over again,” Mr. Marchand said.

The participants also honored Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley and several members of Congress for their work on the IDEA.


Budget Update: Mr. Riley and several members of Congress missed the IDEA event, however, because they were discussing the education budget with President Clinton.

Although the new fiscal year began Oct. 1, Congress passed a “continuing resolution” on Sept. 29 to keep the government open without a new budget. Congress has until Oct. 14 to approve a spending bill or pass another measure to continue funding.

— Joetta L. Sack federal@epe.org

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read