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Federal Law - The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

For school libraries, the third federal law governing access is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA is the nation's foremost law delineating the scope of accessibility in the public education of children with disabilities. Initially enacted in 1975 as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and amended and renamed in 1997, IDEA presents a guide for states to providing fair and equal access to public education for all students.

Under IDEA, access to the general curriculum is largely interpreted to apply not only to the physical accessibility of the classroom, but to the learning materials, teaching methods, programs, and technologies in the classroom and often in the school libraries. Consequently, school libraries are a critical component in providing access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities. In order to meet this obligation, school libraries should have a plan to address the accessibility of their programs and services, and provide necessary access to library materials for individuals with disabilities.

As described in subsequent tutorials, access to library materials is a significant responsibility, particularly for school libraries. In order to provide accessible materials, libraries must assess whether to purchase available accessible versions of print materials, database and research services, and closed-captioned and/or video described videos and DVDs. Additionally, libraries must consider the accessibility of the materials they generate for distribution to patrons.

Further information:

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA/the_law.html

IDEA Partnership:
http://www.ideapartnership.org/

NICHCY:
http://www.nichcy.org/idea.htm

Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004
http://idea.ed.gov/