Executive Functioning

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There are a number of important laws and policies that govern individuals with disabilities and the field of special education in the United States. While at this time no specific legislation exists regarding executive functioning in particular, students with challenges in this area may qualify for special education services based on other, related conditions.

The following laws govern the field of special education in our country:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

ADA stipulates that individuals with disabilities cannot be discriminated against on the basis of their disability for employment, participation in government, or access to public facilities, communications, and transportation. According to ADA’s website, a disability is defined as, “a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.”

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

IDEA builds upon the precedent of ADA, with specific stipulations protected children with disabilities in the educational setting. Students in public schools must be provided with a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment (LRE) necessary to meet their needs. Generally, the LRE is considered a full-inclusion or “mainstream” classroom.

In order to qualify for special education services under IDEA, a student’s psychoeducational assessment results must show deficits in academic areas such as reading, writing or math, as well as significant processing difficulties, such as auditory or visual processing or working memory.

Students who qualify for “special ed” are required to have Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs), which are developed by a team that includes regular ed and special ed teachers, administrators, related service professionals (e.g. speech and language pathologists, psychologists, or occupational therapists), parents, and the student himself. An IEP ensures that a student will receive the accommodations and modifications he needs in order to be successful in his school program.

• Section 504

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, commonly referred to as “a 504 plan” or simply “a 504,” requires that students with disabilities be able to participate as fully as their non-disabled peers in any government-funded program, including public schools. Students between 3 and 22 years of age are covered under Section 504, if they have a disability, illness, or other disorder that “substantially” limits their ability to function in everyday life and/or learn in a regular education setting. Examples of disabilities covered by Section 504 include hearing or vision loss, ADD/ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, and other conditions.

• No Child Left Behind

This controversial piece of legislation, signed into law in 2001, focuses on standards-based education reform. The idea of NCLB is that, by raising standards and focusing on quantitatively measurable educational goals, schools can improve student outcomes. In order for states to receive funding for their public schools, students must achieve certain results on standardized assessments. This process is designed to increase accountability for student outcomes within schools and provide funding for schools whose students are working hard to achieve at a high level. However, NCLB has faced heavy criticism for encouraging school programs to “teach to the test” and failing to address other factors that are crucial to student success, such the availability of extracurricular activities, the quality of student-teacher relationships, class sizes, opportunities for field trips and experiential learning, and more.