The new idea: changes, concerns, and questions.

The new amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act became effective in July 2005 and contained a number of important changes to the current law. Some of the major changes regarding highly qualified teachers, alignment with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, eligibility, the Individualized Education Program process, and procedural safeguards will be discussed, because those areas have an immediate impact on school personnel as well as on eligible children and their families.

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On December 3, 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was amended and reauthorized by Public Law 108-446, with the majority of changes becoming effective in July 2005, and the name changed to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). This article provides an overview of substantive changes to current special education law and practical concerns that will require planning at the district or school level and/or further clarification from the regulations or state laws. Particular attention is paid to the following topics: highly qualified teachers, consent, eligibility, Individualized Education Program (IEP) team participants, IEP contents, and procedural safeguards, including disciplinary procedures. To avoid confusion between the two versions, I will refer to them as IDEA 97 and IDEA 2004.

Highly Qualified Teachers

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, requires that teachers of "core academic subjects" such as "English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography" must meet state criteria for "highly qualified" (20 U.S.C. [section] 7801 (11)). IDEA 2004 also contains standards for "highly qualified" special educators in two different categories (20 U.S.C.A. [section] 1401 (10)(C) and (D)).

The first category pertains to any new or veteran teacher who teaches "core academic" subjects only to students with disabilities who are assessed using alternative achievement standards and typically applies to those who teach students with significant cognitive delays. These teachers may either meet the NCLB requirements or, for those teaching above elementary level, demonstrate an appropriate level of subject matter knowledge. The second category of teachers must meet NCLB requirements and includes those who reach two or more "core academic" subjects exclusively to children with disabilities. Given the teaching responsibilities of most special educators, it appears that the majority will be required to meet NCLB standards (Apling & Jones, 2005; National Conference of State Legislators, 2005).

IDEIA 2004 regulations, however, do not provide specific guidance regarding the "highly qualified" criteria for special education teachers who do not teach "core academic" classes but provide preschool services or consultative support in areas such as behavior intervention. While there were no specific suggestions regarding criteria for preschool teachers, Apling and Jones, in their 2005 report for Congress suggested that a teacher who provides only consultative support to a "highly qualified" teacher should be considered a "highly qualified" special education teacher if the following requirements are met: has state certification in special education, has no waived certification or licensure requirements, and holds at least a bachelor's degree.

A recent report by the National Conference of State Legislators (2005) noted that meeting the NCLB requirements may be elusive for many districts. Teachers in many small districts are required to teach multiple subjects, and requiring that they meet NCLB "highly qualified" criteria for every subject may be unreasonable and even deter individuals from teaching in such a setting. Similar concerns can be made regarding the IDEIA 2004 requirements. For example, some students with behavioral disorders are…