Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
1990 (P.L. 101-476) and 1997 (P.L.
105-17)
Although the Tech Act first defined AT devices and services, it
was IDEA in 1990 that first outlined the school district's responsibility
to provide AT to students with disabilities. IDEA also included
the Tech Act's Assistive Technology Devices and Services and a specific
statement about the school district's role:
[IDEA] 300.308 Assistive Technology
Each public agency shall ensure that assistive technology
devices or assistive technology services or both, as those terms
are defined in 300.5 - 300.6 are made available to a child with
a disability if required as part of the child's
(a) Special education under 300.17;
(b) Related services under 300.16; or
(c) Supplementary aids and services under 300.550(b)(2).
Taking all of this together, it is clear that the school district,
as a public agency, must ensure that both AT devices and services
are provided if "required" for the student to receive
a free, appropriate public education (FAPE). It is this determination
that is often challenging for schools. It falls to the IEP team
to determine what, if any, AT is necessary.
However, with the 1997 EHA Amendments stating that AT be "considered"
on all student IEPs and its recognition that AT may continue to
support the student's access to FAPE outside the school environment
to a child's home or in other settings, the use of AT is further
strengthened.
This "consideration" mandate infers that the IEP team
has sufficient knowledge of AT devices and services to make this
determination. The law is clearly intended to encourage district
personnel to learn about what AT works and what doesn't themselves,
as they are best equipped to understand the demands of the environment,
the time available, or the skills of the personnel in that environment.
(Reed, 2000)
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