How does ADA and Section 504 differ from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
IDEA is a federal funding statute that was passed in 1997 with the intention of “having a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available to all children with disabilities, in the least-restrictive environment (LRE), and the guarantee of due-process procedures and procedural safeguards” (Council for Exceptional Children: http://ericec.org/digests/e576.html ). IDEA requires all fifty states to “include students with disabilities in state and district-wide testing programs, with appropriate accommodations when necessary” and to “establish performance goals and indicators for students with disabilities.” Simply put, IDEA provides financial aid to states with the instruction that the money be used to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. This law stipulates that students with disabilities be mainstreamed in educational environments that are proven to be “least-restrictive” to their success, or where they are given optimal attention and support
