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SCHAFFER v. WEAST Opinion of the Court
substantially in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, 89 Stat. 773. At the time the majority of dis abled children in America were “either totally excluded from schools or sitting idly in regular classrooms awaiting the time when they were old enough to ‘drop out,’ ” H. R. Rep. No. 94–332, p. 2 (1975). IDEA was intended to reverse this history of neglect. As of 2003, the Act governed the pro vision of special education services to nearly 7 million chil dren across the country. See Dept. of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, Data Analysis System, http:// www.ideadata.org/tables27th/ar_ aa9.htm (as visited Nov. 9, 2005, and available in Clerk of Court’s case file). IDEA is “frequently described as a model of ‘cooperative federalism.’ ” Little Rock School Dist. v. Mauney, 183 F. 3d 816, 830 (CA8 1999). It “leaves to the States the primary responsibility for developing and executing educational pro grams for handicapped children, [but] imposes significant re quirements to be followed in the discharge of that responsi bility.” Board of Ed. of Hendrick Hudson Central School Dist., Westchester Cty. v. Rowley, 458 U. S. 176, 183 (1982). For example, the Act mandates cooperation and reporting between state and federal educational authorities. Partici pating States must certify to the Secretary of Education that they have “policies and procedures” that will effectively meet the Act’s conditions. 20 U. S. C. § 1412(a). (Unless otherwise noted, all citations to the Act are to the pre-2004 version of the statute because this is the version that was in effect during the proceedings below. We note, however, that nothing in the recent 2004 amendments, 118 Stat. 2674, appears to materially affect the rule announced here.) State educational agencies, in turn, must ensure that local schools and teachers are meeting the State’s educational standards. §§ 1412(a)(11), 1412(a)(15)(A). Local educa tional agencies (school boards or other administrative bodies) can receive IDEA funds only if they certify to a state educa
