Who Receives Special Education?
As a parent, you are uniquely qualified to know your child's learning strengths and weaknesses. If your child does need special education, school professionals need your knowledge to design his or her special education program. Your child may be eligible for special education if he or she:
Your child must meet both qualifications in order to be eligible for special education.
As of July 1, 2005, the applicable law will be the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 or "IDEA 04". IDEA '04 makes many significant changes to IDEA '97 which will impact the federal regulations, state regulations, forms currently in use in Pennsylvania, and the Procedural Safeguards available to parents. The federal regulations are currently in the process of being revised to bring them into alignment with IDEA '04 but the regulations will not be finalized prior to July 1, 2005. Because Pennsylvania's state regulations rely heavily on the federal regulations, any changes to the federal regulations may also impact the state regulations.
The information in this section is based upon IDEA '97. Therefore, you are encouraged to revisit this web site periodically after July 1, 2005 for information on IDEA 04. Federal regulations provide detailed information on special education eligibility. In Pennsylvania, all students eligible for special education have the right to a free appropriate public education.