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

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a statute that authorizes grant programs that support special education and early intervention services for children with disabilities. Under the IDEA, a series of conditions are attached to the receipt of grant funds. These conditions aim to provide certain educational and procedural guarantees for children with disabilities and their families. Part B of the IDEA contains two sections—Part B, Section 611 contains provisions relating to special education for school-aged children with disabilities (ages 3 through 21) and Part B, Section 619 addresses the supplemental state grants program for preschool children with disabilities (ages 3 through 5). The grant programs authorized under Part B of the IDEA provide federal funding to states and local educational agencies (LEAs) for the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities. IDEA 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). IDEA, Part B also outlines and requires the use of procedural safeguards pertaining to the identification, evaluation, and placement of students in special education services that are intended to protect the rights of parents and children with disabilities. These procedures include parental rights to resolve disputes through a mediation process, and to present and resolve complaints through a due process complaint procedure and through state complaint procedures. In the 2023-2024 school year, approximately 7.9 million children ages 3 through 21 received educational services under Part B of the IDEA. 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 LEA. The IEP is developed by an IEP team composed of school personnel and the child’s parents or guardian. 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 the fall of 2023, approximately 68% of all school-aged children with disabilities who were served by IDEA, Part B 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. In FY2024, $15.4 billion was appropriated for IDEA, $14.6 billion of which was appropriated to Part B. 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 special education spending, rather than substituting federal funds for special 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 these programs continues to be provided through annual appropriations acts.