ABSTRACT
The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; Public Law 105-17) stipulates regulations that guide the public schools in identifying students eligible for special education and related services. Moreover, it provides compliance reviews that ensure that the public schools in a given state act in accordance with the regulations. It is our position in this paper that the schools follow the letter of the law, albeit somewhat reluctantly at times, in establishing eligibility of children for special education by virtue of meeting criteria for learning disabilities (LDs). Furthermore, we contend that the public schools attempt to implement this process in compliance with IDEA stipulations and, in so doing, yield a population of LD students that
Includes a substantial proportion who fail to meet criteria specified in the state education code and authoritative definitions (false positive LD cases).
Fails to include a segment of students, of unknown magnitude, who do in fact meet criteria specified in the state education code and authoritative definitions (false negative LD cases).
Varies considerably in the severity of the achievement deficits and other characteristics salient to the educational process from state to state, district to district, and school building to school building.
Reflects the perceptions of school building personnel in terms of the students at that site most in need of, and likely to benefit from, the services available at that site.
