Chapter 8: Identifying and Treating Educational Disabilities

S. school system, tracing how federal legislation and landmark court decisions have fundamentally shaped psychological practice in schools. The evolution of special education services began with pivotal litigation in the early 1970s, including cases like Mills v. Board of Education and PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which established the constitutional right of all students with disabilities to receive free public education. Simultaneously, cases addressing assessment bias, such as Larry P. and Diana, revealed how culturally biased intelligence testing led to overrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in special education programs, prompting significant reforms in evaluation practices. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act established four foundational principles that continue to guide practice: Free Appropriate Public Education ensures all eligible students receive publicly funded services tailored to their needs; the Least Restrictive Environment mandate requires students be educated alongside nondisabled peers to the maximum extent feasible, driving widespread inclusion movements; the Individualized Education Program guarantees personalized, annually reviewed educational plans based on comprehensive assessments; and Due Process Procedural Safeguards protect parental rights and allow independent evaluation requests. IDEA classifies disabilities into thirteen categories organized by etiology and prevalence, ranging from low-incidence biological conditions to high-incidence functional disabilities like specific learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A major systemic transformation emerged with the 2004 IDEA reauthorization, which shifted identification criteria away from discrepancy models toward Response to Intervention and pattern-of-strengths assessment approaches. This shift reflects a broader movement toward Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, repositioning school psychologists from traditional standardized test administrators toward problem-solving practitioners who design evidence-based interventions and monitor progress in natural classroom environments. The chapter emphasizes how ongoing interaction between legal mandates and psychological research continues to refine best practices in identifying and serving students with educational disabilities.