Week 2 - Assignment: New Foundations Reflection

New Foundations Reflection Name Institution New Foundations Reflection The decision by Congress to pass the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-142) was based on several findings. Congress realized that at the time, the U.S. had over eight million handicapped children whose special educational needs were not being met completely. In addition, it was found that one million of those children had no access to the public school system and those who had access did not receive appropriate educational services. Further, families of handicapped children were forced to find alternative sources of education since the public system could not provide their children with successful and adequate educational services. Congress also found out that local and State agencies had the responsibility to provide necessary educational services for handicapped children but lacked sufficient funds and as such, the Federal government would provide funding to facilitate these needs (Government Publishing Office (US), n.d.). The passage of P.L. 94-142 was also influenced by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). This act was passed to ensure equal and quality access to education for all, more so by compensating the disadvantaged children (Gamson, McDermott, & Reed, 2015). Federal government involvement in supporting State agencies to provide education for the poor created a path that was later utilized during the passage of P.L. 94-142. ESEA also enhanced civil rights in education (Gamson, McDermott, & Reed, 2015), thus making it easy to support the rights of handicapped children, hence the P.L. 94-142 passage. The P.L. 94-142 has six basic principles which include a free appropriate public education (FAPE), the least restrictive environment (LRE), procedural due process, parental participation, an individualized education program (IEP), and nondiscriminatory assessment (Project Ideal, n.d.). These principles played a major role in ensuring that handicapped children had access to free, effective education that fits their unique challenges without discrimination. They also allowed parents or guardians to participate in making the decisions that affect these children. Several amendments have been made on the P.L. 94-142 over time. One of them, made in 1990, involves changing the name to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In addition, the amendments required children to have an individual transition plan (ITP) before they turn 16, as part of the IEP (The University of Kansas, n.d.). Further, autism and brain injury were recognized as disability categories and social work and rehabilitation counseling were added as part of the services provided (Project Ideal, n.d.). These changes ensured that children could easily transit to their post-secon...