Individuals With Disabilities
Education
Act
Congress approved final legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on November 19, 2004. President Bush signed the bill into law on December 3, 2004. The amendments related to the definition of "highly qualified" special education teachers take effect on December 3, 2005, with the rest of the amendments going into effect on the earlier date of July 1, 2005.
Written by Robert Silverstein,
J.D., Director of the Center for the Study and Advancement of
Disability Policy, funded by the Consortium for Citizens with
Disabilities.
Tools and resources put
together by the collaborative work of various associations working
together to improve the outcomes for children and youth with
disabilities.
" The Council for Exceptional
Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization
dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with
exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted."
A
Note about Occupational Therapists in relation to the highly qualified
teachers provisions:
"Both IDEA and NCLB contain very extensive language about "highly qualified" (HQ) special and general education teachers. Separate language in IDEA addresses related services qualifications (see Sec. 612(a)(14)). The HQ requirement DOES NOT apply to occupational therapists UNLESS they are responsible for teaching a "core academic subject" (also defined in Section 602). Core academic subjects are math, science, geography, language arts, etc. So, if, for example, your state has designated OT as the specially designed instruction, rather than a related service, AND/OR you are responsible for teaching one of the above academic subjects you would have to meet the HQ requirement." from Leslie Jackson, on the AOTA School List Serve, May 11, 2005 Home Articles and Links Index Treatment Areas Success Stories Experience |