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ANALYSIS


35 Years of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): A Celebration of Access to Education


By Dr. Linda F. Bluth Te significance of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for students with


disabilities should not be underestimated. Without this entitlement, transportation for chil- dren with disabilities, including access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) could never have been fulfilled. My career in the field of special education began in 1965, a decade before the passage of the


IDEA, formerly known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, Public Law (P.L.) 94 142, in 1975. Since then, I have written articles about the importance of the related service of transpor- tation in the journey to provide special education and related services for children with disabilities. When I think back to my first years teaching students with disabilities, I cannot once recall seeing a


school bus on the road with a lift to transport non-ambulatory students to school. Early in my teach- ing career I tutored non-ambulatory students at home because they were unable to access school. My interest in the yellow bus went into


full swing when a student in one of my classes was denied transportation for the school year after wetting herself on the bus ride home. Tis was during my first year of teaching when I had minimal knowledge about or experience in letting students use the bathroom before the end of the school day. I had no idea about the length of time of the school bus ride to and from school. I remember my bold approach to the transportation director, special edu- cation director and principal on behalf of reinstating this student’s transportation. I admit to being unsuccessful, but I person- ally transported this student to and from


school in response to my mistake. Little did I know that a student wetting her pants would launch a 46-year passionate crusade on behalf of students with disabilities. Te 35th Anniversary of the IDEA provided an opportunity for advocates of children with dis-


abilities to celebrate the remarkable progress in transportation services for children with disabilities across our nation. Integration of disabled and non-disabled peers is now a more common practice both in the classroom and on the school bus. Historically, the impact of the related service of trans- portation, as a key provision under the IDEA, should not be forgotten but should be celebrated for its importance as key to education access. I think back to how things were before the passage of the IDEA, and I take great pride in the role of the school bus as a means of access to an entitlement for children with disabilities. Tis special 35th Anniversary of the IDEA allows us to reflect on the past, think about current


challenges and campaign for the future. On this occasion, President Obama stated, “Te law was a major civil rights victory. We must never lose sight of the history here. In 1975, more than one million children with disabilities were being turned away from school altogether.” Te mandated transportation of children with disabilities, made integration of students with disabilities into the public schools a reality. Te school bus has improved steadily and adapted to better meet the needs of children with many


different kinds of disabilities, especially younger children with more complex medical needs. Un- equivocally, school bus manufacturers have played an essential role in improving safety for children


26 School Transportation News Magazine February 2011


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