Chapter 1: The Transition of Youth and Young Adults with Learning Disabilities and with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: An Introduction to the Volume

Forty years ago landmark legislation in the United States guaranteed all children and youth with disabilities a free, appropriate public education. Since that time, we have witnessed significant progress in the education of students with disabilities and celebrated the positive outcomes of their education. Today, more students and young adults with disabilities than ever before are attending neighborhood schools, accessing the general curriculum, graduating from high school, enrolled in postsecondary programs, and employed (United States Department of Education, 2010). But we still have not reached all of the promises that the Education for All Handicapped Children Act – along with its subsequent amendments and known now as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) – made 40 years ago. And those promises are as relevant today as they were then.