The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the major federal statute for the education of children with disabilities. IDEA both authorizes federal funding for special education and related services and, for states that accept these funds, sets out principles under which special education and related services are to be provided. The requirements are detailed, especially when the regulatory interpretations are considered. The major principles include the following requirements: States and school districts make available a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children with disabilities, generally between the ages of 3 and 21. States and school districts identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, regardless of the severity of their disability, to determine which children are eligible for special education and related services. Each child receiving services has an individual education program (IEP) spelling out the specific special education and related services to be provided to meet his or her needs. The parent must be a partner in planning and overseeing the child's special education and related services as a member of the IEP team. "To the maximum extent appropriate," children with disabilities must be educated with children who are not disabled; and states and school districts provide procedural safeguards to children with disabilities and their parents, including a right to a due process hearing, the right to appeal to federal district court, and, in some cases, the right to receive attorneys' fees. IDEA was originally enacted in 1975 in response to judicial decisions holding that when states provide an education for children without disabilities, they must also provide an education for children with disabilities. IDEA has been the subject of numerous reauthorizations; the most recent reauthorization was P.L. 108-446 in 2004. P.L. 108-446 included specific authorizations for appropriations through 2011. Congress is currently beginning the process of identifying potential issues for the next reauthorization. This report examines the Supreme Court decisions, and selected lower court decisions since July 1, 2005, the effective date of P.L. 108-446 . A key component of IDEA is the definition of a child with a disability. Unlike the definitions of disability in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the IDEA definition is categorical, not functional, and contains a requirement that the child needs special education and related services. The IDEA definition states the following: CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—''(A) IN GENERAL.—The term 'child with a disability' means a child—''(i) with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance (referred to in this title as 'emotional disturbance'), orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and ''(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services. In Hansen v. Republic R-III School District , the court examined whether a child who had been diagnosed with conduct disorder, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was a child with a disability under IDEA. Finding that the child met the IDEA definitional categories of serious emotional disturbance and other health impairments, the court noted that the child was not "merely socially maladjusted" but struggled to pass his classes and standardized tests. Similarly, the child was found to have a diagnosis of ADHD and his educational performance was affected by the condition. The need for special education and related services was key in other court decisions. Several courts of appeal decisions have examined whether a child who falls within one of the categories of disabilities but whose disability may have a minimal effect on education is a child with a disability and thus covered by IDEA. In L.I. v. Maine School Administrative District No. 55 , the First Circuit Court of Appeals found that a child with Asperger's Syndrome and an adjustment disorder with depressed mood was a child with a disability under IDEA even though she had high grades, generally non-disruptive behavior, and "undisputed intellectual ability." The court rejected the argument that IDEA is limited to children whose disabilities "significantly impact educational performance," noting that neither the statute nor its regulations contain this limiting language. Similarly, in Board of Education of Montgomery County v. S.G. the school argued that a child with schizophrenia was not a child with a disability because the disability did not adversely affect her school performance. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this argument after finding that the child had missed a substantial amount of school due to hospitalizations, failed to complete many of her assignments, and, if returned to the public school environment, would most likely be hearing voices again. On the other hand, the Ninth Circuit in R.B. v. Napa Valley Unified School District held that a child with ADHD, depression, reactive attachment disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder who exhibited violent tendencies was not eligible for IDEA services since her inappropriate behavior did not adversely affect her educational performance. The fact that the child received a Section 504 plan and behavioral supports did not make her eligible under IDEA. In Alvin Independent School District v. AD , the Fifth Circuit also found no adverse educational effect from the child's ADHD. Mr. and Mrs. N.C. v. Bedford Central School District examined whether a child with dysthymic disorder met the requirements of the IDEA regulations for seriously emotionally disturbed and found that the child's behavior fell short of the requirements for seriously emotionally disturbed. The Second Circuit also noted that even if the child qualified as seriously emotionally disturbed, there was insufficient evidence that his educational performance was adversely affected. IDEA requires that in order to receive funds under the statute, a state must submit a plan to the Secretary of Education indicating that a state has certain policies and procedures in effect. Among these is the requirement that all children with disabilities and who are in need of special education, are identified, located, and evaluated. This requirement is referred to as child find. Although this requirement has not been heavily litigated, the ninth circuit held in Compton Unified School District v. Addison that a school district who failed to evaluate a ninth grader who failed all her classes, colored with crayons and played with dolls in class failed to meet IDEA's child find requirement and that such a failure could be the subject of a due process complaint. Although the Supreme Court has not yet made a determination regarding whether the case will be heard, the Court did ask the Department of Justice for its views on the issue. The issue as presented to the Court is whether the parent of a child with a disability has a right to a due process hearing alleging negligence because of school officials' failure to arrange an educational program for the child, or if due process suits are only allowed when the school district makes an intentional decision. The core requirement of IDEA is that a state must provide children with disabilities a free appropriate public education in order to receive federal funding under the act. FAPE is defined in the statute as meaning "special education and related services that—(A) have been provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge; (B) meet the standards of the State educational agency; (C) include an appropriate preschool, elementary school, or secondary school education in the State involved; and (D) are provided in conformity with the individualized education program required under section 614(d)." A seminal decision on the requirements of FAPE , Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley , decided in 1982, was the first IDEA case to reach the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court noted that there was no substantive language in IDEA regarding the level of education to be accorded to children with disabilities and observed that "(i)mplicit in the congressional purpose of providing access to a 'free appropriate public education' is the requirement that the education to which access is provided be sufficient to confer some educational benefit upon the handicapped child." The Court concluded that "the 'basic floor of opportunity' provided by the Act consists of access to specialized instruction and related services which are individually designed to provide educational benefit to the handicapped child." The Court held that the requirement of FAPE is met when a child is provided with personalized instruction with sufficient support services to benefit educationally from that instruction. This instruction must be provided at public expense, meet the state's educational standards, must approximate the grade levels used in the state's regular education, and must comport with the child's IEP. The Court found that when a child with a disability is mainstreamed, "the system itself monitors the educational progress of the child.... The grading and advancement system thus constitutes an important factor in determining educational benefit." Therefore, the IEP "should be formulated in accordance with the requirements of the Act and, if the child is being educated in the regular classrooms of the public education system, should be reasonably calculated to enable the child to achieve passing marks and advance from grade to grade." However, the states are not required to "maximize" each child's potential. If the child is progressing from grade to grade and making measurable and adequate gains, the FAPE requirement is met. The Supreme Court also stated that in ensuring that the requirements of the statute have been met, courts must be careful to avoid imposing their view of preferable educational methods upon the states. The primary responsibility for formulating the education provided was left by IDEA to state and local educational agencies. As the Court noted, determining when children with disabilities are "receiving sufficient educational benefits to satisfy the requirements of the Act presents a more difficult problem" than complying with requirements for access to education. Because of the wide spectrum of disabilities, the Court did not attempt to establish any one test for determining the adequacy of educational benefits and confined its analysis to the facts of the case. Rowley remains a key decision under IDEA and is often cited by courts attempting to determine the parameters of a free appropriate public education.