Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004

President Bush signed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, which reauthorized the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), on December 3, 2004. This law promotes accountability for results, enhances parent involvement, uses proven practices and materials, provides more flexibility, and reduces paperwork burdens for teachers, states and local school districts. This law begins with the statement: "Disability is a natural part of the human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to participate in or contribute to society. Improving educational results for children with disabilities is an essential element of our national policy of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities"

The purpose of IDEIA, Public Law 108-446, includes a variety of of areas of focus, with the primary purpose being to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, http://www.ideapartnership.org/topics-database/idea-2004.html