On December 3, 2004, the President signed the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004”, which reauthorized and modified the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997. On December 8, 2004, the law was codified as Public Law 108-446.
The new law includes significant changes in several areas, including student discipline, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process, alternative dispute resolution, and IDEA use of funds. A few of these changes are effective immediately, while most take effect on July 1, 2005. Some changes in due process and procedural requirements will only be available to no more than 15 states granted waivers under a competitive selection process. There is no assurance of being selected for waiver status. This will impact the extent to which current IDEA practices change within the state.
Arkansas Department of Education Special Education staff is participating with the federal Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in analyzing these and other changes in IDEA 2004 and should be able to provide definitive guidance to local education agencies by early March 2005.