Resources EnhanceSpecial Ed Services (NAPSA)—For more than 25 years, federal law has guaranteed a free appropriate public education to children and youth with disabilities. In 1997, the U.S. Con- gress reaffirmed and strengthened this commitment by reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, better known as Implementing IDEA’97. Even though there have been many milestones of achievement in special and general education as a A Guide for Principals still face challenges in understanding and implementing the law. Fortunately, there are a variety of federally funded resources that are available to educators to help them understand and implement IDEA 97. idea. result of this Act, some educators The ILIAD (IDEA Local Imple- mentation by Local Administrators) Partnership located at the Council for Exceptional Children supports the efforts of local administrators to implement IDEA ’97 by providing timely and accurate information aboutthe law. The ILIAD Partnership Project is one of four national projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs. ILIAD works with the Families and Advocates Partnership for Education (FAPE), the Associations of Service Providers Implementing IDEA Reforms in Education (ASPIIRE), and the Policymaker Partnership (PMP) to deliver a common message and increase understanding of IDEA’97. Among some ofthe benefits of the project are: Professional development resources on various components of IDEA ’97 for staff training activities; Access to the IDEA National Resource Cadre, a resource net- work of individuals who provide timely and accurate information on IDEA ’97 to a variety of audiences; Accurate, easy-to-understand A newguide for principals can provide schools with even more ways to help students with disabilities achieve goals. information and guidance on IDEA 97; An information staff that answers phone and e-mail questions about IDEA ’97; Web resources on IDEA ’97— many of which are free. (Becauseit is a federally funded project, the Web site and all resources and materials are non-copyrighted and allow unlimited access to reproduction with propercitation); “The Partnership has not only served as an invaluable source of information for our staff and members, it has also provided an excellent forum for discussion of issues related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) andspecial education.” —Steve DeWitt, Associate Director of Government Relations, NASSP, May 26, 2000 Referral to other federally funded resources that can help meetspecific needs. To learn more about IDEA ’97, visit the ILIAD/ASPIIRE Web site at www.ideapractices.org or call 1-877-232-8332 or toll free TTY 1-866-915-5000.
