The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B: Key Statutory and Regulatory Provisions

Ann Lordeman
Specialist in Social Policy

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is both a grants statute and a civil rights statute. As a grants statute, IDEA provides federal funding for the education of children with disabilities and requires, as a condition for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) (i.e., specially designed instruction provided at no cost to parents that meets the needs of a child with a disability). In FY2012, $12.6 billion was appropriated for IDEA. In the fall of 2009, 5.9 million children ages six through 21 received educational services under IDEA.

As a civil rights statute, IDEA contains procedural safeguards, which are provisions intended to protect the rights of parents and children with disabilities regarding the provision of FAPE. These procedures include parental rights to resolve disputes through a mediation process, and present and resolve complaints through a due process complaint procedure, and through state complaint procedures. IDEA’s procedural safeguards also address disciplinary issues. In general, a child with a disability is not immune from discipline, but the procedures are not the same as for nondisabled children.

To be covered under IDEA, a child with a disability must meet the categorical definition of disability in the act, and the child must require special education and related services as a result of the disability in order to benefit from public education. Once a child meets IDEA’s eligibility criteria, FAPE is implemented through the Individualized Education Program (IEP), which is the plan for providing special education and related services by the local educational agency (LEA). The IEP is developed by an IEP team composed of school personnel and parents. IDEA requires that children with disabilities be educated in the least restrictive environment. That is, to the maximum extent appropriate they are to be educated with children who are not disabled. In 2008, over 50% of all children with disabilities served by IDEA spent 80% or more of their time in a regular classroom.

To implement IDEA, states and other entities (i.e., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Bureau of Indian Education, the outlying areas, and the freely associated states) receive grants based on a statutory formula. Most of the federal funds received by states are passed on to LEAs based on a statutory formula. IDEA also contains state and local maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements and supplement, not supplant (SNS) requirements aimed at increasing overall educational spending, rather than substituting federal funds for education spending at the state and local levels.

Originally enacted in 1975, IDEA has been the subject of numerous reauthorizations to extend services and rights to children with disabilities. The most recent reauthorization of IDEA was P.L. 108-446 enacted in 2004. Funding for Part B, Assistance for Education of all Children with Disabilities, the largest and most often discussed part of the act, is permanently authorized. Funding for Part C, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, and Part D, National Activities, was authorized through FY2011. Funding for the programs continues to be authorized through annual appropriations.


Date of Report: January 7, 2013
Number of Pages: 35
Order Number: R41833
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Early Childhood Care and Education Programs: Background and Funding

Karen E. Lynch
Specialist in Social Policy

Gail McCallion
Specialist in Social Policy

Federal support for child care and education comes in many forms, ranging from grant programs to tax provisions. Some programs serve as specifically dedicated funding sources for child care services (e.g., the Child Care and Development Block Grant, or CCDBG) or education programs (e.g., the Preschool Grants Program and Infants and Toddlers Program funded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA). For other programs (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF), child care is just one of many purposes for which funds may be used. In many cases, federal programs target low-income families in need of child care, but in the case of certain tax provisions, the benefits reach middle- and upper-income families as well.

This report provides a funding overview and brief background information on federal child care, early education, and related programs (and tax provisions). The report begins with an update on funding developments for FY2013 (including congressional actions on annual and supplemental appropriations, possible sequestration, and the President’s budget request) and a summary of final funding levels for FY2012. The report concludes with a six-year funding history and brief descriptions for each of the early childhood programs and tax provisions discussed throughout.

Funding for many child care, early education, and related programs is provided each year as part of the annual appropriations process for the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED). (Note that certain early childhood programs and tax provisions receive funding separate from the annual appropriations process.) For FY2013, funding for annually appropriated programs has been provided—through March 27, 2013—by a government-wide continuing resolution (P.L. 112-175), which generally maintains funding for discretionary programs at their FY2012 rates, plus 0.612%. For FY2012, funding for most of these programs was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (P.L. 112-74). Compared to FY2011, the FY2012 appropriations law provided increases for some early childhood programs, such as the discretionary CCDBG, Head Start, and IDEA Grants for Infants and Families.

Several early childhood care and education programs have funding authorizations that have already expired or are due to expire soon. The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act, for instance, expired in FY2002. However, the discretionary CCDBG has continued to be funded through annual appropriations laws. The authorization for many programs in the No Child Left Behind Act expired at the end of FY2008, but these programs have likewise continued to receive funding. Mandatory child care and basic TANF grants are also due for reauthorization in the 113th Congress, but have been temporarily extended through March 2013 by P.L. 112-175.


Date of Report: January 9, 2013
Number of Pages: 24
Order Number: R40212
Price: $29.95

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