Individuals with disabilities education improvement act of 2004 noncompliance determination complaints in commonwealth states

This dissertation examined the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) noncompliance complaints filed against school districts in commonwealth states with noncompliance determinations. To achieve the intent of this study, a content analysis of IDEA noncompliance determinations made by the participating state departments of education was conducted. IDEA noncompliance determination documents included specific IDEA regulations with which schools are having difficulty and educational practices that resulted in schools' noncompliance determinations. This study focused on the challenges school districts are facing in properly educating children with disabilities that resulted in IDEA noncompliance complaints since the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 2004. The participating departments of education for the commonwealth states were asked to randomly select IDEA noncompliance determinations for review. The qualitative data collected in this study were used to address the following research questions: What issues are raised in IDEA noncompliance complaints against school districts? What educational practices are school districts implementing to bring about IDEA noncompliance issues? What federal regulations under IDEA are school districts experiencing difficulties with in the implementation of individual education programs (IEPs)? How do results of IDEA noncompliance complaints vary from state to state? Based on the extensive content analysis and systematic review of the IDEA noncompliance determinations provided by the departments of education for the Commonwealths of Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Virginia, inferences were made based on the findings, but these inferences may not be generalized to other states. The data provided for this study were not representative of the number of IDEA noncompliance determinations identified in the preliminary findings. Based on the findings in this study, noncompliance issues varied from state to state, and there were similarities and differences among the three states. There did not appear to be consistency in whether one state had more of one type of noncompliance issue than another state. While failure to implement the IEP was an issue across participating states, what was not implemented was different from state to state.