According to a statement from the United States Department of Education, the department’s Office of Special Education Programs released updated policy guidance on Monday morning to “ensure and strengthen the rights and protections” afforded to students with disabilities and their families. The guidelines, which took immediate effect, further reinforce protections outlined under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA.
The guidance seeks to ensure that students with disabilities have access to proper supervision and support from a young age. According to the guidance, IDEA will now “require states to make available early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.”
According to a statement from the United States Department of Education, the updates to IDEA will require states to more closely monitor local educational agencies and early intervention service programs.
“As a former special education teacher, administrator, and state special education director, I’ve experienced implementation of IDEA’s general supervision requirements at the state and local level and recognize the need to fortify the policy guidance,” said Glenna Wright-Gallo, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation in the USDE statement. “One vital component of this effort is to ensure children with disabilities, birth through age 21, receive the early intervention services and a free appropriate public education that meets their unique needs and prepares them for further education, employment, and independent living.”
According to the statement, OSEP’s updated guidance will “provide states with accessible and actionable information necessary to timely identify and correct noncompliance, help ensure the rights guaranteed under the IDEA to children with disabilities and their families are protected and reaffirm expectations across states to help ensure consistent implementation of IDEA.”
