Public+Law+94-142

 **Public Law 94-142** - The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), also know as PL 94-142, was enacted in 1975 in response to a serious concern that children with disabilities were being denied the opportunity for public education. Congress passed the Act, which required states to demonstrate that they had created a policy assuring every disabled child a right to free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment that met their needs. Specifically, disabled children should be educated, to the “maximum extent appropriate,” with children who were not disabled. To achieve this goal, Congress allocated federal funding to the states. In return, the states had to comply with the procedural requirements set forth in IDEA. In part, IDEA required that schools would designate a group of individuals to establish an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) for each disabled child. - The final federal regulations of EAHCA was released in 1977 and provided a set of rules school districts had to adhere to when providing an education to students with disabilities. - The EAHCA was amended with the addition of the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act in 1986 and this amendment made clear that students and parents had rights under EAHCA and Section 504.

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The PL 94-142 was the first law to clearly define the rights of disabled children which were as follows: ======
 *  Free appropriate public education (FAPE).
 *  Presence of the parents when meeting about the child or making decisions about his/her education.
 *  An individualized education program (IEP) for every student with a disability.
 *  The placement of a student with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.
 *  Nondiscriminatory tests for students with disabilities: tests will take into consideration the native-language of the student and the effects of the disability.

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