The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which replaces the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, is a federal law that requires states and their school districts to provide individuals with disabilities with free and appropriate education. IDEA regulates how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. U.S. Department of Education (n.d.) The population that IDEA intends to address is children between the ages of three and twenty-one who have a specific disability that has an adverse effect on student achievement. Children who qualify under IDEA are provided with services and accommodations tailored to meet their needs. IDEA entitles all children suspected of having some form of disability to an evaluation by a team, at no cost to parents or guardians. If the child is determined to need special education and related services, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed based on each child's specific needs which are decided by both the team and parents/guardians. Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2008) Once covered by an IEP, students with disabilities are reevaluated at least every three years, and their IEP is revised when a change occurs. This happens more often each year as they move from one grade to another. IDEA recognizes autism, deafblindness, deafness, emotional disorders, hearing disorders, other health problems (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), specific learning disabilities, speech or language disorders speech, traumatic brain injury, and vision impairment. An evaluation for services under I...... middle of paper ......EA: Policy solutions to improve special education in the United States. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.brookings.edu/DiNitto, D. M. (2011). Social Security: Politics and Public Policy (7th ed.). : Allyn & Bacon.Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology (2008). Law on the education of persons with disabilities. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://www.sage-ereference.com/educationalpsychology/Article_n139.htmlLloyd, PhD, CM, and Rosman, PhD, E. (2005). Babies and toddlers. Exploring mental health outcomes for mothers of low-income children with special needs: Implications for policy and practice, 18(3), 186-199. National Association of Social Workers (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/default.aspUS Department of Education (n.d.). Building IDEA's legacy. Retrieved April 9, 2011, from http://idea.ed.gov