This November marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children’s Act (Public Law 94-142), later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Act guaranteed access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) to each child with a disability.

To celebrate the importance of this historic legislation, the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs is soliciting feedback from children and youth with disabilities, teachers, parents, and other IDEA
stakeholders about the impact the legislation has had for them. Comments may be submitted up to
November 8, 2015 at https://www.osep-meeting.org/ideaanniversary/.

The NJDOE encourages your participation in this exciting and important endeavor, as we celebrate the tremendous
impact the IDEA has had on the students, parents and educators in New Jersey.