ABSTRACT
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was grounded in the fourteenth amendment gave each citizen equal access to the law and due process under the law. IDEA in its original form was known as P.L. 94-142 in 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA). By the 1970s, built on the backdrop of the civil rights movement and the legal precedence it created, attention turned to civil rights for children with disabilities. In 1975 Public Law (P.L.) 94-142 the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) assured a free public education for children with disabilities. Part A of IDEA explained the purposes and congressional findings to be addressed in the legislation. Part B codified processes and procedures to implement and address the purposes. Part C of IDEA dealt primarily with funding of state education agencies and other public facilities who provided a wide variety of functions from teacher education to regional centres for disability. In 1997 the IDEA was greatly expanded as new legal challenges were tested and assisted in shaping the new 1997 reiteration of IDEA. By 2004 this collection of legislation would ensure access to education services for all children regardless of disability.
