50 Years of IDEA: The Lasting Impacts and Continuing Challenges of Helping Students With Disabilities Succeed
Before 1975, students with disabilities were not guaranteed the right to receive an education. If states believed that a student with disabilities would not benefit from education or experience improved outcomes, they could choose to exclude them entirely or place them in programs that may not adequately meet their needs. The U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), signed into law on November 29 by President Gerald Ford, changed this, guaranteeing that students with disabilities had the right to access a free and appropriate public education.
For 50 years, IDEA has revolutionized how we support learners with disabilities and has shaped the very identity of the special education profession.
- Lindsey Hayes, AIR Principal Researcher
In the 50 years since the law was signed, generations of students with disabilities have been able to learn alongside their peers and receive individualized supports to help them succeed. While the law has expanded access to education, challenges remain to help students with disabilities reach their full potential and to support and maintain the special education workforce.
For decades, AIR has worked to improve outcomes for students with disabilities and their families, by conducting federal, state, and local projects and providing training and technical assistance support for implementing IDEA and evidence-based practices. Learn more about our special education work.
Impact on Access and Outcomes
IDEA ensured access to education for students with disabilities, providing them with the opportunity to learn in an environment best suited to their needs. In this video, AIR experts Dena Slanda, Abigail Foley, and Sara Evans explain what this expanded access means to students with disabilities, their families, their fellow students, and their communities.
The law’s impact on access extends beyond simply allowing students with disabilities in the classroom; it’s helped to create a sense of belonging. Here, Principal Researcher Abigail Foley shares her personal connection to IDEA and the law’s effect on a culture of belonging:
In a piece for Education Next, Allison Gilmour explores progress under IDEA, as well as the major constraints on its continued success.
How can schools help students with disabilities progress academically? A report by the Promoting Rigorous Outcomes and Growth by Redesigning Educational Services for Students with Disabilities Center (PROGRESS Center, managed by AIR) identifies five essential elements common among schools where students with disabilities achieved above expectations.
The Role of Data and Evidence in Fulfilling IDEA
A variety of data collection practices are key to ensuring the promise of IDEA. For example, educators can use student-level data to help assess whether their practices are working, and leaders can use data to shape teacher preparation programs and inform any broader changes they may want to make. In this video, AIR experts Dena Slanda, Keane Alavi, and Sara Evans discuss how educators and leaders use data to assess practices and strategies for students with disabilities.
Supporting the Special Education Workforce
Teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and others all have a role in the education of students with disabilities. A persistent shortage of these professionals across the U.S. affects the education system’s ability to adequately serve students with disabilities. In this video, AIR experts Lynn Holdheide, Keane Alavi, and Abigail Foley talk about the supports special education professionals need—and the role leaders can play in providing those.
Experts from the Special Educator Workforce: A Research Collaborative (SPARC Center), funded by the U.S. Department of Education and managed by AIR, took a close look at the composition, distribution, and stability of the special education teacher workforce over time and across seven states. State education leaders and policymakers can gain actionable recommendations in a working paper detailing this research. An interactive Data Explorer tool and Fact Sheets further support planning and policy development efforts for the special education workforce.
