20 U.S.C. § 1450 — Findings

Congress finds: (1) The Federal Government must continue supporting activities that produce positive results for children with disabilities so they can lead productive, independent adult lives. (2) System-wide improvement for all students, including children with disabilities, requires States, local educational agencies, parents, people with disabilities and their families, teachers, service providers, and other interested people and organizations to develop and carry out comprehensive strategies that improve results. (3) State educational agencies, working with local agencies, parents, and other people and organizations, are best positioned to improve education and address the special needs of children with disabilities. (4) An effective system should (A) maintain high academic standards and clear performance goals for children with disabilities consistent with those for all students, and use effective strategies so every child has the opportunity to meet them; (B) define objectively and measurably the school and post-school results expected of children with disabilities; and (C) promote transition services and coordinate education, social, health, mental-health, and other State and local services to address student needs, especially for children needing substantial support to participate and learn at school and in the community. (5) Enough qualified personnel are critical (A) to serve children effectively, (B) to lead administration and direct services, (C) to train teachers, and (D) to conduct high-quality special-education research. (6) High-quality, comprehensive professional development is essential so people responsible for educating or transitioning children with disabilities have the needed skills and knowledge. (7) Professional-development models should be based on science and successful practices, including ways to recruit, prepare, and keep personnel. (8) Continued support is essential for coordinated, high-quality research that informs successful teaching and model curricula. (9) Training, technical help, support, and information-sharing are needed to fully implement subchapters II and III and achieve high-quality early-intervention, educational, and transition results for children and families. (10) Parents, teachers, administrators, and related-service personnel need timely, coordinated, accessible technical help and information to improve those services and results at State and local levels. (11) Parent training and information help parents handle the pressures of raising a child with a disability. They are especially important for (A) creating constructive parent-school relationships through open communication, early dispute resolution, and avoiding escalation into an adversarial process; (B) involving parents in planning and decisions about early-intervention, educational, and transition services; (C) achieving high-quality results; (D) giving parents information about their rights, protections, and duties under this chapter; (E) helping parents develop skills to take part effectively in their children’s education, development, and the transitions in section 1473(b)(6); (F) supporting parents as partners seeking better services and results; and (G) supporting parents who have limited access because of economic, cultural, or language barriers. (12) Support is needed to improve technological resources and bring technology, including universally designed technology, into the lives of children with disabilities, their parents, school personnel, and others through curricula, services, and assistive technology.