Hello All,
I thought it was time to repost this message.  I posted it just before school
started.  New people have joined with the same problems that plague as all.
I hope this helps you all out. Also please note that this is in the U.S.
If you live outside the U.S.  You may contact C.H.A.D.D as they have some
chapters in other areas such as Canada.
Regina
File:	FACT5.HTM
Author:	Phil Bernstein, Coordinator CH.A.D.D. of Bay County
Date:	10:21 PM on 12/22/95
LEGAL RIGHTS AND SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH ADD
LEGAL RIGHTS AND SERVICES 
FOR CHILDREN WITH ADD
    Issue:
     Federal law requires that children with ADD be provided
     a free and appropriate public education.  As it has
     only recently been clarified that these children are
     eligible for special educational services and given the
     lack of understanding in some quarters regarding ADD,
     many children with ADD may not be receiving required
     educational services.
     Both Public Law 94-142, Part B of the Individuals with
     Disabilities Education Act or IDEA, and Section 504 of the
     Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require that school systems make
     a "free and appropriate public education" available to
     eligible and qualified children with disabilities.  Special
     education and related services must be made available to any
     child with a qualifying disability when the disability
     impairs the child's educational performance.
     On September 16, 1991, the U.S. Department of Education
     issued a Policy Clarification Memorandum expressly
     recognizing children with ADD as eligible for special
     education and related services under Part B of the IDEA and
     Section 504.  The Department concluded that children who
     present only with ADD are eligible for services under Part B
     of the IDEA as they fall within the law's "Other Health
     Impaired" category.
     The Department's action responded to the fact that many
     children with ADD were not receiving a free and appropriate
     public education, while many others appeared to be receiving
     assistance unrelated to their specific ADD needs.
     Part B of the IDEA not only requires that public schools
     provide a free education to children with disabilities, the
     law also sets parameters for determining an appropriate
     education.  Such education must include special education
     and related services specifically designed to meet each
     child's unique needs through an individualized education
     plan (IEP).  The IEP must reflect the nature and severity of
     each disability present and specify aids and services to be
     provided to meet the child's unique needs created by each
     disability.  Part B further requires public schools to meet
     a disabled child's needs to the maximum extent appropriate
     in a regular classroom with non-disabled peers.  If this is
     not possible, the schools must consider a range of options
     including but not limited to a mix of regular and special
     education classroom services; full-time special education
     classes in a regular public school; a private school; and
     home instruction.
     Part B of the IDEA requires public schools to identify and
     promptly evaluate, using a multidisciplinary team, children
     having or suspected of having a disability to determine the
     child's need for special education and related services at
     no charge to parents.
     Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits
     discrimination against otherwise qualified persons with
     disabilities in federally assisted programs and activities
     solely on the basis of their disabilities.  All public
     schools that receive federal funds must comply with Section
     504 by addressing the needs of children with disabilities as
     adequately as the needs of non-disabled children.  Section
     504 sets similar parameters to Part B of the IDEA for
     determining an appropriate education.
     Section 504 protections extend further than the IDEA because
     504 does not consider a need for special education as an
     eligibility requirement, as is the case under Part B of the
     IDEA.  Rather, Section 504 applies to any person who has a
     "physical or mental impairment which substantially limits a
     major life activity."
     The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted in 1990,
     provides another legal means of requiring all educational
     institutions, other than those operated by religious
     organizations, to meet the needs of children with ADD. 
     Title II of the Act, applicable to all public schools,
     prohibits the denial of educational services, programs or
     activities to all students with disabilities and the
     discrimination against all such students once enrolled. 
     Title III of the Act applies these same requirements to non-
     sectarian private schools.
     In considering the ADA's applicability to children with ADD
     in public schools, it is quite likely that courts will look
     to the U.S. Department of Education's policy guidance on
     Part B of the IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
     as they relate to ADD.
     Copyright © 1995, CH.A.D.D.
     Need more information?
     C.H.A.D.D.
     499 Northwest 70th Avenue, Suite 101
     Plantation, Florida 33317
     305-587-3700
     "http://www.chadd.org"
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