In 1966, the United States Congress acknowledged and addressed the fact that there was a lack of educational services for students with disabilities by amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grant program 'for the purpose of assisting the States in the initiation, expansion, and improvement of programs and projects...for the education of handicapped children'.

This program was repealed with the adoption of the 1980 Education for the Handicapped Act, which provided grant monies to be used for this purpose.

Congress was dissatisfied with the progress of the 1980 law, and in 1994 determined the need to 'study what federal assistance would be needed to meet the needs of handicapped children'.

In 1975, the U.S. Congress passed a funding statute, the Education of All Handicapped Children Act.  This Act was amended in 1986, 1990 (when the name was changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and 1997.  As of 1997, this law was, and continues to be, known as Public Law 105-17, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Public Law 107-110, more famously known as the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, is a United States federal law. It was passed in the US House of Representatives on May 23, 2001, and signed on January 8, 2002. It re authorized a number of federal programs aiming to improve the performance of U.S. primary and secondary schools by increasing the standards of accountability for states, school districts, and individual schools, all while providing parents more flexibility in choosing which schools their children will attend. In addition, it promoted an increased focus on reading and re authorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)1.

No Child Left Behind is the latest federal legislation which enacts the theories of standards-based education reform, formerly known as 'outcome-based education', which comes from the belief that high expectations and setting of goals will result in success for all students. The Act also requires that the schools distribute the name, home phone number, and address of every student enrolled to military recruiters, unless the parent specifically opts out1.

Major Principles of IDEA

• All students with disabilities, regardless of severity, who are eligible for services under IDEA, are entitled to a free, appropriate, public education.
• Free Appropriate Education (FAPE) - 'special education and related services which a) are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge, b) meet standards of the state educational agency, c) include appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary school education in the state involved, and d) are provided in conformity with the Individualized Education Program (IEP)' for all identified special needs students.
• Least Restrictive Environment - students with disabilities will be educated, to the extent possible, with their age-appropriate, non-disabled peers.
• Confidentiality of Information - the confidentiality of disabled students' educational records is protected.
• Procedural Safeguards - equal protection under the law is assured by ensuring the parent(s) or guardian(s) is/are and equal participant in the special education process.

Major Principles of No Child Left Behind

• Teacher quality - The No Child Left Behind Act requires that, by the end of the 2006-07 school year, all teachers be 'highly qualified' as defined in the law. A highly qualified teacher is one who has fulfilled the state's certification and licensing requirements, obtained at least a bachelor's degree, and demonstrated subject matter expertise.
• For teachers who are new to the profession, elementary teachers must pass a state test demonstrating their subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading/language arts, writing, mathematics, and other areas of basic elementary school curricula. Middle and high school teachers must demonstrate a high level of competency in each academic subject area they teach, which can occur either through passage of a rigorous state academic subject test or successful completion of an undergraduate major, a graduate degree, coursework equivalent to an undergraduate major, or an advanced certification or credentialing.
• Teachers not new to the profession can satisfy the subject matter requirement in the same manner as new teachers or demonstrate subject knowledge through a state-determined high objective uniform state standard of evaluation (HOUSSE). These requirements have caused some difficulty in implementation, particularly for special education teachers and teachers in small rural schools who are often called upon to teach multiple grades and subjects.
• Student testing - the progress of all students will be measured annually in math and reading in grades 3-8 and at least once during high school. By the end of the 2007-08 school year, testing also will be conducted in science once during grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-11.
• Standardized tests are required in public schools by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, in US Public Law 107-110, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. They measure academic achievement in elementary, middle, and senior high school, as well as for high school graduation examinations to measure proficiency for high school graduation.
• Scientifically based research - the phrase 'scientifically based research' is found 111 times in the text of No Child Left Behind, and schools are required to use 'scientifically based research' strategies in the classroom and for professional development of staff. Research meeting this label, which includes only a small portion of the total research conducted in the field of education and related fields, must involve large quantitative studies using control groups as opposed to partially or entirely qualitative or ethnographic studies, research methodologies which may suggest different teaching and professional development strategies.
• Public school choice - schools identified as needing improvement are required to provide students with the opportunity to take advantage of public school choice no later than the beginning of the school year following their identification for school improvement. NCLB authorized, and Congress subsequently appropriated, a substantial increase in funding for Title I aid, in part to provide funding for school districts to implement the law's parental choice requirements. About one percent of eligible students made choice of the school choice option as of 2004-05.

State Laws, Policies, and Procedures
Chapter 18, Article 20 of the West Virginia code, entitled 'Education of Exceptional Children', is a law passed by the WV legislature that requires each county school system (LEA) to educate all identified exceptional children from 5 through 21 years of age in accordance with their capacities, limitations, and needs.  In addition, it requires special education programs and services to be provided to all identified special needs children ages 3 through 5.

WV Department of Education - Policy 2419:  Regulations for the Education of Exceptional Students
The regulations for the education of exceptional students are the regulations approved by the WV Board of Education that govern the identification, eligibility, programs, and services for the education of exceptional students in West Virginia.

For more information, please visit the West Virginia Department of Special Education website, found here.

What the Special Education Laws Mean

• Special education programs and services are to be appropriate to meet the unique needs of each exceptional child.
• Special education programs and related services will be provided for identified exceptional children at no cost to families.
• Public schools must educate exceptional children in settings and classrooms that allow each child to participate in the regular school program to the extent possible.
• Parents must give written consent before an evaluation is conducted.
• Parents must be informed and asked to participate in making decisions and in developing and monitoring the Individualized Educational Program (IEP) for their exceptional child.
• Parents must give written consent when their child is placed in special education for the first time.
• Parents have the right to get an independent educational evaluation if they disagree with the school's evaluation.
• Educational rights transfer to the student on their eighteenth birthday; this is referred to as the age of majority.
• If parents feel their child's educational needs are not being met by the public schools, they may file a formal complaint and/or request a due process hearing.
• Parents have the right to inspect and review all educational records maintained by the school pertaining to their child.

1. Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind