One of the issues facing the parent or guardian of a child with a physical or learning disability at the end of a lawsuit is determining the best environment for their child’s or ward’s educational needs.
As amended in 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires the United States’ Secretary of Education to make an annual determination as to whether each state is meeting the requirements of the statute. Under the IDEA each state is required to have in place a State Performance Plan (SPP) that evaluates the state’s efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of Parts B or C of the IDEA, and describes how the state will improve its implementation of these programs. Each state must then submit an Annual Performance Report (APR) detailing its progress in meeting the targets it established in its SPP.
The IDEA details four categories for the Secretary’s determination:
- Meets the requirements and purposes of the IDEA
- Needs assistance in implementing the requirements of the IDEA
- Needs intervention in implementing the requirements of the IDEA
- Needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of the IDEA
The current reports lists the:
States Meeting Part B requirements
Alaska
Connecticut
Hawaii
Michigan
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Virginia
Wyoming
States Meeting Part C requirements
Alabama
Alaska
Connecticut
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands
Iowa
Maryland
Montana
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
West Virginia
Wyoming
For more information on the new requirements, to see how other states fared on "the report card" and other valuable information, please refer to the Department of Education web site.
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