A critical element of aligning IDEA with State and local educational reform efforts is promoting high expectations for children with disabilities commensurate with their particular needs and meaningful and effective access to the general curriculum in the regular classroom, to the maximum extent appropriate. We know that most children work harder and do better when more is expected of them.
Disabled students are no different.
Despite our knowledge, too often the education system fails to have challenging standards for these students or even to take responsibility for their academic progress. The original intent of IDEA was to ensure that access to an appropriate education is based on individual needs, including access to the general curriculum whenever appropriate. Including Students With Disabilities in Assessments Challenging standards and aligned assessments are a central component of State and local school reform efforts. While section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 already prohibit the discriminatory exclusion of students with disabilities from participation in assessments, we believe that public reporting of results and use of the data in developing State improvement efforts is equally important. Including students with disabilities in assessments will be a significant change from current practice in many States and school districts.