The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: Intersection, Divergence, and the Path Forward

Abstract

The 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) offered an opportunity for reflection on ways that ADA has influenced—and might further shape—the provision of special education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), now in its 47th year of implementation. After reviewing the purposes, provisions, and contexts of the two laws, the authors discuss the interplay between IDEA and ADA within several important areas, including the delivery of student services, creation of system-wide frameworks, focus on postsecondary outcomes, and programs in higher education. The authors then consider three factors that create tensions for the ways in which IDEA currently defines disability and addresses student needs: changing demographics in public schools, standards-based reform in education, and the growth of disability rights and activism. The article concludes with recommendations for moving ahead by deepening and expanding the dialogue between special education and the disability rights communities; amplifying the voices of graduates of IDEA; engaging leadership of independent federal advisory agencies to infuse ADA principles into IDEA; and exploring international thinking, scholarship, and practice related to serving all students effectively and inclusively.