A free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment: Promises made, promises broken by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Section II of this Comment reviews the statutory and common-law roots of IDEA and summarizes the resultant legislation. Section III of this Comment addresses specific controversial policies of the Act. Specifically, Section III focuses on the inconsistencies within the mandates of: free education; appropriate education; placement in the least restrictive environment; individualized education plan; and due process safeguards. Section IV recommends strategies for legislative, judicial, and administrative intervention to accelerate compliance with IDEA and to achieve the positive outcomes the 94th Congress envisioned.