Laws & Regulations – SPA4321 Audiologic Rehab

Quote on Deaf Capability

• “Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do except hear.” – Dr. I. King Jordan, first Deaf president of Gallaudet University
  • Sets a civil-rights frame for the lecture: equal opportunity, removal of attitudinal and legal barriers.

Conditions Before EHA & IDEA

• Social climate (pre-1975):
  • Widespread institutionalization of children & adults with intellectual or mental‐health disabilities.
  • Families seldom invited to planning; decisions made by medical or custodial institutions.
  • Denial of formal schooling was routine.
  • \text{1970: only }\tfrac{1}{5}\text{ children with disabilities were served in public schools.}
• Legal vacuum: No comprehensive federal guarantee of education or parental rights; states set their own widely varying policies.

Early Federal Responses (1950s-1970s)

• Training of Professional Personnel Act of 1959 (PL 86-158)
  • Funded university programs to prepare special-education teachers & related service providers.
• Captioned Films Acts (PL 85-905 & PL 87-715, 1958 & 1961)
  • Supported production/distribution of captioned media—early model of accessibility technology.
• Teachers of the Deaf Act of 1961 (PL 87-276)
  • Addressed critical shortage of certified teachers for Deaf/HH students.
• Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965 (PL 89-10) and State Schools Act (PL 89-313)
  • Direct monetary grants to states; first federal foothold in special-education financing.
• Handicapped Children’s Early Education Assistance Act of 1968 (PL 90-538) and Economic Opportunities Amendments of 1972
  • Seed money for preschool/Head Start inclusion; recognized importance of intervention before kindergarten.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act – PL 94-142 (1975)

• Four stated purposes:
  1. Provide \text{FAPE} (Free Appropriate Public Education) with special-ed & related services.
  2. Safeguard rights of children & parents.
  3. Assist states/localities in implementation.
  4. Evaluate effectiveness of efforts.
• Core principles introduced:
  • Zero-Reject, Child-Find, Nondiscriminatory Evaluation, Individualized Education Program (IEP), Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), Procedural Due Process, Parental Participation.
• Evolution:
  • Amended 1997; title changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), PL 105-17.

Reauthorizations & Key Additions

1986 (PL 99-457)

• Mandated Early Intervention (birth–3) & services to families (Individualized Family Service Plan – IFSP).

1990 (PL 101-476)

• Renamed EHA → IDEA.
• Added Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) & Autism as disability categories.
• Required Individual Transition Plan (ITP) in every IEP by age 16 (facilitating post-secondary goals).

1997

• Stronger emphasis on access to general curriculum.
• Allowed states to define Developmental Delay through age 9.
• Enhanced parental voice & litigation protections.

2004 (“IDEA ’04”)

• Promoted Early Intervening Services (EIS) for students not yet found eligible but needing support.
• Heightened accountability via data reporting; aligned with No Child Left Behind.
• Required Highly Qualified special-education teachers.

2006 Regulations

• Instituted research-based interventions (foundation of RTI/MTSS) as part of eligibility decisions.

2008 Regulations

• Clarified parental consent for continuing services, due-process representation, state monitoring, employment goals for adults with disabilities.

2011-2013

• Expanded/clarified Part C (infant–toddler) requirements; reinforced explicit parent-notification of rights.

2015

• Allowed modified academic-achievement standards while preserving rigor.

2016

• Addressed racial/ethnic disproportionality in identification & disciplinary removals.

2017 Supreme Court (Endrew F. v. Douglas County)

• Set the standard that an IEP must be “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances… every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives.”

Workforce Growth Snapshot

• \text{2005–06: }695{,}466 personnel; \text{2017–18: }942{,}446 — demonstrates expanding service demand & compliance workload.

Comparing ADA, IDEA, & Section 504

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990)

• Title I – Employment (≥15 employees must comply).
• Title II – State & Local Governments (program access, public transportation).
• Title III – Public Accommodations & Commercial Facilities (private businesses open to public).
• Definition of disability: “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such impairment, or being regarded as having it.”
• Examples for Deaf/HH:
  • Hotels must supply telecommunication devices (e.g., TTY).
  • Movie theaters must provide assistive listening loops & captioning devices.

ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA, 2008, PL 110-325)

• Restored broad interpretation after restrictive court rulings.
• Instructs courts to focus on discrimination, not whether individual fits a narrow definition.
• Assistive devices (e.g., hearing aids) cannot be considered when judging disability status; however, if amplification fully mitigates the limitation, eligibility might be questioned.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Detailed)

• Early Intervention (Part C):
  • Birth–3; services captured in IFSP.
• School-Age Services (Part B):
  • Ages 3–21; governed by IEP.
• Eligibility for Deaf/HH: HL must adversely affect educational performance (academic, linguistic, or social).

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973)

• First Fed. civil-rights protection against disability discrimination.
• Applies even if HL does not degrade grades—covers communication access, participation, extracurriculars.
• Eligibility hinges on impairment ⇢ substantial limitation of a major life activity (hearing, speaking, learning, etc.).
• Mitigating measures (hearing aids, CIs, FM systems) cannot be used to deny coverage.

Summary of Communication Supports (Children vs. Adults)

• Children: protected primarily by IDEA, ADA Title II, & Section 504.
• Adults: rely on ADA for “auxiliary aids & services,” including but not limited to:
  • Assistive listening devices (ALDs)
  • Open/closed captioning
  • Captioned telephones, RTT
  • Videotext displays, screen readers
  • Video Relay Service (VRS) & Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)
• Guiding principle = “effective communication.”

Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI)

• Definition: Coordinated public-health & clinical initiative to identify infants with permanent HL ASAP.
• 1–3–6 Benchmark:
  1. Screen by 1 month.
  2. Diagnostic confirmation for non-passers by 3 months.
  3. Early Intervention enrollment by 6 months.
• Why crucial? Earlier auditory/linguistic access → better speech, language, cognitive & academic trajectories.
• Efficacy question posed: “What % of U.S. babies receive newborn hearing screening (NBHS)?”
  • (Latest CDC data ≈!\ge 98\%; presenter cues students to research.)

Ethical & Practical Threads

• Equity vs. Equality: Laws shift from minimal access (pre-1975) to requirement of meaningful benefit (Endrew F.).
• Parent empowerment: Consistent trend toward informed consent, procedural safeguards, & collaborative decision-making.
• Data-driven practice: IDEA ’04 & 2006 regs push evidence-based interventions, foreshadowing RTI/MTSS.
• Technological implications: Captioned media legislation in 1950s foreshadows modern streaming captions; ADA Title III drives market for hearing-loop installations, VRI kiosks, etc.

Connections to Earlier Coursework / Foundational Principles

• Audiologic Rehab continuum: Legal mandates form the backbone enabling AR services in schools, workplaces, and community.
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Principles resonate with ADA & Section 504—design environments usable by all without adaptation.
• Family-Centered Practice: 1986 early-intervention amendments institutionalize concepts introduced in counseling lectures.

Numerical & Statistical References (LaTeX)

• 1970:\ \tfrac{1}{5}\ (20\%) of children with disabilities were served.
• Personnel growth: 695{,}466\rightarrow 942{,}446 (increase of \approx 35\%) from 2005$–$06 to 2017$–$18.
• NBHS coverage: \ge 98\% (CDC, 2020) – implied.

Recap Questions for Study

• Explain zero-reject and child-find in your own words.
• Distinguish IDEA eligibility vs. Section 504 eligibility for a student with mild HL and good grades.
• Describe the legal differences between reasonable accommodation (ADA/504) and specially designed instruction (IDEA).
• Outline steps and timelines in the EHDI 1-3-6 model.
• How did Endrew F. raise the bar for IEP teams?

“Take-Home” Mnemonics

• **FAPE = “Free Appropriate” → think *“F”* for Free, “APE” for “appropriately tailored education.”
• 1-3-6 = 1 Ear 3 inch 6 pack (visualize: you “hear” with one earplug, diagnose with three probes, intervene with six helpers).