All kids deserve a fair chance to learn. That’s the idea behind IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. If you have a child or teen with MS, the National MS Society can help you ensure that your child gets appropriate treatment from your school system.
Kids, including kids with disabilities, have the right to go to school with their neighbors, sit together in the classroom, join school clubs, attend assemblies, go on field trips, and enjoy school plays. A federal law, IDEA provides educational funds to states that provide standardized access to education for all children with disabilities.
Under IDEA, individuals with disabilities are children who have impairments and who, because of their impairments, need special education and related services. IDEA applies only to certain impairments related directly to educational performance; however, Section 504/ADA covers any child whose disability constitutes an impairment of a major life function and who needs special education or related services. Every child must have an equal opportunity to access the benefits offered by our educational system.
What does all this mean? It means that children and teens with multiple sclerosis have the right to free and appropriate public education. This education must be “designed to meet individual educational needs of disabled persons as adequately as the needs of non-disabled are met.”
For information or assistance,contact us at 1-866-KIDS W MS (866-543-7967) or childhoodms@nmss.org.