In the Voices of Parents

Abstract

Since its initial passage in 1975, parent involvement had been a cornerstone of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). However, parents face many barriers in voicing their concerns to professionals. One way for parents to share their insights and create systemic change is during an IDEA reauthorization. Yet, although the public is afforded the opportunity to provide feedback during a reauthorization, individual parent input is frequently under-represented. In this study, across urban, suburban, and rural regions of a state, we asked parents of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities ( N = 49) to provide videotaped testimonies about their concerns regarding IDEA. After qualitatively analyzing their testimonies, we found that parents wanted the next IDEA reauthorization to add supports (including applied behavior analysis services and teacher–student ratios), provide specificity regarding certain provisions (i.e., transition, least restrictive environment, and eligibility criteria for learning disabilities), and maintain or increase stipulations (paperwork provisions and federal funding, respectively). Implications for future research and policy are discussed.