DOJ/DOE Joint Publication: Frequently Asked Questions on Effective Communication for Students with Hearing, Vision, or Speech Disabilities in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Part B of the IDEA provides Federal funds to State educational agencies and through them local educational agencies (hereinafter school districts), for the purpose of assisting them in providing FAPE to eligible children with disabilities through the provision of special education and related services.¹⁶ States receiving IDEA funds must ensure that school districts locate, identify, and evaluate children who are suspected of having disabilities and who need special education and related services. Each eligible child must have a written individualized education program (IEP), developed by an IEP Team, that, among other things, includes a statement of the special education and related services that the school district will provide to the child.¹⁷ School districts also must ensure that FAPE is provided in the least restrictive environment to all eligible children with disabilities. These IDEA protections also apply to children with disabilities who attend public charter or magnet schools.¹⁸ Among other things, the IEP must address the communication needs of eligible children. The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in ED’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) administers the IDEA, and OSEP’s implementing regulations for Part B are found at 34 C.F.R. pt. 300.

The IDEA does not restrict or limit the rights, procedures, and remedies available under the U.S. Constitution, the ADA, Section 504, or other laws protecting the rights of elementary and secondary students with disabilities, except that before filing a case in Federal or State court seeking relief that is also available under the IDEA, the child’s parents must generally go through (“exhaust”) the IDEA administrative hearing procedures.¹⁹