Evolving Interpretations of Educational Equity and Students with Disabilities

The education of students with disabilities in today's schools is being shaped by 2 very powerful laws: the 2004 Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) and the 2001 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Title I, No Child Left Behind Act). These 2 laws are changing our conceptions about special education. Both of these laws are sources of a great deal of ambiguity and frustration among special education professionals mostly resulting from the tension that exists between the core policy goals and assumptions underlying Title I and IDEA. This article explores the sources of tension between the 2 major policies. Specifically, the article traces the evolution of the meaning of educational equity as defined in K–12 education and compares that to the underlying policy of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The article concludes with a proposal for reconsidering what constitutes equity for students with disabilities and a model that acknowledges different interpretations of equity for some students with disabilities.