What is IDEA?

Image of woman in a blue coat and a man who is using a white cane with sunglasses. The two have their arms linked and are crossing a street. At the bottom of the image is a black box with white text reading “WHAT IS IDEA?”. Above the bottom black box is a white box with dark blue text reading “LEARN MORE” with a blue and orange cursor icon graphic to the right.

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Full Guide of all 30+ Flyers (Compiled as a Booklet).

IDEA stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Why is IDEA important?

IDEA is the ground-breaking civil rights law that guaranteed the right of students with disabilities to attend public school. IDEA provides numerous rights to eligible students with disabilities. Those rights are detailed in the various flyers of this series.

IDEA has six important elements. These are:

1) Individualized Education Program (IEP)
2) Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
3) Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
4) Appropriate Evaluation
5) Parent and Student Participation
6) Procedural Safeguards

What does IDEA do?

The federal IDEA law makes sure that any eligible child with a disability has access to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

See more: What is FAPE under Special Education?

The IDEA also says that every eligible child with a disability must have special education and related services that meet their individual needs.

How does IDEA work in Kansas?

Kansas schools must follow the IDEA. Kansas also has extra rules and regulations that help the State carry out the IDEA. Schools also have to follow those rules.

Read more about the IDEA in Kansas at KSDE's Parent Guide to Special Education.

Sources & Additional Resources:

Kansas Special Education Process Handbook. Kansas State Department of Education.

Disclaimer: This fact sheet is not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney. Only an attorney can give you specific legal advice based on your particular situation. We try to update our materials regularly, but the law can change frequently. This publication is based on the law at the time that it was written. Future changes in the law could make information in this fact sheet inaccurate.