[4] This declaration caused a great deal of unrest in the political sphere and marked a gateway moment in the Civil Rights Movement.

From schools being integrated to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, from Greensboro sit-ins to marches on Washington, equal rights for all was a prevalent ideal.

"[8] At the time, 3.5 million disabled children attended school but were "warehoused" in segregated facilities and received little or no effective instruction.

[8] More than 1 million children had no access to the public school system,[8] with many of them living at state institutions where they received limited or no educational or rehabilitation services.

Finally, the law contains a due-process clause that guarantees an impartial hearing to resolve conflicts between the parents of disabled children and the school system.

[13] The IDEA requires that public schools create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student who is found to be eligible under both the federal and state eligibility/disability standards.

Both the family and the teacher work together on the IEP team to determine goals, the LRE, and to discuss other important considerations for each individual student.

Throughout the whole IEP and special education process, parents and families should be updated and kept informed of any decisions made about their specific student.

States who do not improve must refund these incentives to the federal government, allow parents choice of schools for their children, and abide by other provisions.

While the standards for being highly qualified may differ between state or school district, the minimum requirements are that a teacher hold a bachelor's degree from a four-year college, be certified and licensed to teach by the state and have taken the necessary tests to indicate competency in one's subject area,[29] although special education teachers are often exempt from such testing.

In this Act, public schools that received federal funding were required to provide equal access to education for children with disabilities.

[33] On September 28, 2011, the Department of Education published an article in the Federal Register detailing the updates that have been made to Part C of the IDEA.

The plan is based on a child and family assessment of strengths and needs as well as the results of multidisciplinary evaluations administered by qualified professionals meeting their state's certification guidelines.

[36] In order to receive funding, participating states must provide early intervention to every eligible child and the respective family, regardless of pay source.

[36] Lastly, services from Part C are not necessarily free – early intervention programs, as the payor of last resort, make use of public and private insurance, community resources, and some states implement a "sliding scale" of fees for services not covered by public or private insurance.

108–36) amended CAPTA by requiring that cases of abused and neglected children, or those pre- or post-natally exposed to illegal substances, be referred to early intervention services using IDEA Part C funds.

[45] A social and emotional assessment given to caretakers of these children showed 34.1% had a possible problem, and 27.0% had a possible social/emotional deficit or delay compared to 25% and 15%, respectively, in a standardized population.

Overall, 42.6% of children aged one to five years showed a need for developmental support, making them potentially eligible for early intervention services.

[43] A 2008 survey of 30 participating states by the IDEA Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association showed that 65% of children under three who are abused or neglected are being routinely screened for developmental delays.

shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance .

It also required parents to attempt to resolve disputes with schools and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) through mediation, and provided a process for doing so.

The amendments authorized additional grants for technology, disabled infants and toddlers, parent training, and professional development.

Drawing on the report of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education,[49] the law revised the requirements for evaluating children with learning disabilities.

Under the Court's reading of the IDEA's relevant provisions, medical treatments such as suctioning, ventilator checks, catheterization, and others which can be administered by non-physician personnel come within the parameters of the special education law's related services.

[54] The Supreme Court held that parents of disabled children can seek reimbursement for private education expenses regardless whether their child had previously received special-education services from a public school.

[57] The U.S. Supreme Court heard the "potentially groundbreaking case" brought by a "Douglas County couple who claim that their autistic son was not provided an adequate education in the public school system as required by federal law.

There are others who contend that the Endrew case may be applicable to all of the 76 million students enrolled in U.S. public schools due to the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause.

[61] The family requested reimbursement for the tuition claiming the Douglas County School District had not fulfilled the requirements of IDEA.

""[58] Supreme Court Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel Alito, and Anthony M. Kennedy expressed concerns about the implications of implementing IDEA with changes in quality of education standards.

The parents claimed that schools should provide "substantially equal educational opportunities" and that "[IDEA] does not permit cost to trump what the act otherwise requires.