Information and Resources

Full text of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (PDF)

• COPAA Comparison of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 to IDEA ’97

  This comparison was prepared for COPAA by Jess Butler. Additions are marked with underlining and italics. Deletions are marked with strikethroughs.

  The document is offered in one complete PDF file of 201 pages or in 8 sections as indicated below. Permission to copy the document is granted provided that it is unedited and attributed to COPAA.

  • IDEA 2004 Comparison to IDEA ’97 - full document (201 pages, 934k)
  • Part A, including Findings & Purposes, and Sections 602-609 (20 pages, 344k)
  • Part B – Sections 611-612 (35 pages, 380k)
  • Part B – Sections 613-614 (24 pages, 324k)
  • Part B – Section 615 (21 pages, 344k)
  • Part B – Sections 616-619 (15 pages, 312k)
  • Part C (23 pages, 344k)
  • Part D (42 pages, 444k)
  • Title II (National Center for Special Education Research) and Title III (Miscellaneous Provisions) (10 pages, 244k)
• Congressional Research Service: Analysis of Changes Made by P.L. 108-446 (PDF)
• Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities, Users Guide to IDEA 2004 (PDF)

IDEA Federal Regulations

IDEA 2004

• On October 30, 2007 The Department of Education published a correction to final regulations issued on August 14, 2006 for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, which inadvertently included minor technical errors.
  Oct07 Corrected Regs (MS Word Version, 144 pages, 931 KB)
  Oct07 Corrected Regs(PDF Version, 144 pages, 639 KB)
• Feb. 28, 2005: COPAA issued initial comments to the U.S. Department of Education regarding IDEA 2004 regulations prior to the Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) Comments and recommendations prior to proposed regulations (Feb. 28, 2005) (13 pages, 180k)
• June 21, 2005: The U.S. Department of Education issued its Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM). Proposed federal regulations for the implementation of IDEA 2004 are available here in PDF.
• September 6, 2005: COPAA submitted extensive comments on the proposed regulations. (PDF, 71 pgs, 1 MB)
• March 26, 2006: COPAA submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education on the proposed Paperwork Reduction Pilot and Multi-Year IEP NPRM.
• August 14, 2006: The U.S. Department of Education issued final Part B regulations effective October 13, 2006. See the Part B Final Regulations (307 pages, 1.4m).  The Department of Education also published model forms, including an Introduction to the Model Forms, IEPs, Notice of Procedural Safeguards, and Prior Written notice. See http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html#tools

IDEA ’97

• U.S. Department of Education IDEA ’97 Regulations, 34 CFR Part 300 and 303 (March 12, 1999). Includes the complete package: regulations, appendices, and analysis of comments by the Department of Education. The file has been split into four documents because of the length.
  • 34CFRPart300and303reduced_Part1
  • 34CFRPart300and303reduced_Part2
  • 34CFRPart300and303reduced_Part3
  • 34CFRPart300and303reduced_Part4

 1983 Regulations

• According to IDEA 2004, implementing federal regulations must maintain the same level of protection for children with disabilities as provided by the regulations in effect on July 20, 1983, unless Congress clearly and unequivocally states its intent otherwise (See Sec. 607(b). The same language was included in IDEA 97. COPAA is making the July 1983 regulations available for reference, as they appeared in the Code of Federal Regulations, July 1, 1983. Please adhere to copy/distribution requirements noted.

  Code of Federal Regulations – July 1, 1983 (121 pages, 700k)

IDEA 2004 and IDEA ’97 Legislative History

IDEA 2004 Legislative History

• April 30, 2003: U.S. House of Representatives passed its bill to reauthorize IDEA, H.R. 1350, by a vote of 251 to 171. Read the House Committee Report (108-77) (384 pages, 1.3MB).
• June 25, 2003: U.S. Senate HELP Committee unanimously approves S. 1248 to reauthorize IDEA. Read the Senate Committee Report (108-185) (357 pages, 944k).
• May 13, 2004: U.S. Senate incorporated its bill (S. 1248) in H.R. 1350 and passed a revised H.R. 1350 in lieu of S. 1248 by a vote of 95 to 3.
• November 17, 2004: The Conference Committee filed its report on the bill, reconciling the House and Senate bills (H.Rept. 108-779)* (263 pages, 644k)
• November 19, 2004: The House agreed to the Conference Report by a vote of 397 to 3. Read the Congressional Record of the House Debate (17 pages, 128k).
• November 19, 2004: The Senate approved the Conference Report by unanimous consent. Read the Congressional Record of the Senate Debate (19 pages, 140k).
• December 3, 2004: President Bush signed the bill into law (P.L. 108-446 – The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004).

*Note: Important legislative history about the ability of school districts to recover attorneys’ fees was inadvertently left out of the Conference Report. Please see the Congressional Record, Nov. 19, 2004 at S11655, H10011, and H10021 in the links above.

During 2001 and 2002, the House and Senate held hearings on IDEA.

• Senate hearings are available here.
• House hearings are available here.

To find the House and Senate bills, go to http://www.congress.gov, select 108th Congress, and search for H.R. 1350 and S. 1248. The bill that was actually passed by the Senate in May 2003 is H.R. 1350 EAS (Engrossed Amendments as Agreed to By Senate).

President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education

In 2002, the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education issued its report, A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and their Families after conducting hearings nationwide.

COPAA positions during the reauthorization of IDEA

• IDEA Position Paper (March 2003) (11 pages, 148k)
• COPAA/NAPAS joint letter to Congress on Attorney Fees provision (November 2004) (6 pages, 552KB)

IDEA ’97 Legislative History

On June 4, 1997, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 was signed into law.  Read IDEA ’97, Public Law No. 105-17.

IDEA ’97 Congressional Reports: House Rept. No. 105-95; Senate Rept. No. 105-17.

In the 104th Congress, 1995-96, Congress had considered other bills to amend IDEA, but the Congress expired before they were enacted. Documents related to these bills include the House bill, H.R. 3268, Senate Rept. No. 104-275, and House Rept. No. 104-614.

 U.S. Department of Education issued proposed regulations for IDEA in 1997.

Final regulations were issued in 1999. Complete 1999 regulations are available here and Part B regulations are available here.

Previous IDEA history

In 1975, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), IDEA’s predecessor, was signed into law. In 1974, the Education of Handicapped Children Act was adopted. Prior to 1974, most federal laws were limited grant programs for education of children with disabilities. These federal laws followed on the heels of important litigation brought by parents, Pennsylvania Ass’n of Retarded Citizens v. Pennsylvania (PARC), 344 F. Supp 1257 (E.D. Pa. 1971), and Mills v. Board of Education, 348 F. Supp. 866 (D.D.C. 1972). Consent decrees entered in the two cases established that children with disabilities had the right to a free public education and due process and hearing rights. The first federal act appears to have been adopted in 1965, when Congress created a grant program allowing states to apply for grants to, among other things provide “specialized instruction and equipment . . . for persons who are handicapped. . . .” Pub. L. 89-10.

State Regulatory Information

COPAA offers guidance on State regulations implementing IDEA 2004 to protect the educational rights of children with disabilities and ensure they receive a meaningful education. This is an analysis of particular issues raised by IDEA 2004 that may be of assistance to advocates (PDF 52k)

State Evaluation timelines (PDF 104k)

Due Process Hearing Tiers in 50 states (PDF 84k)

Links to state-specific information compiled by COPAA in 2007.  This includes links to State Departments of Education, state special education regulations, and due process hearing decisions.

Link to State Listing of websites for IDEA mandated State Advisory Panels for Special Education