This digest summarizes changes in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the reauthorization and amendments of 1997, Public Law 105-17. These changes include: participation of students with disabilities in state and district-wide assessment programs, development and review of the individualized education program (IEP), enhanced parent participation in eligibility and placement decisions, streamlined student evaluation and re-evaluation requirements, a required statement of transition service needs for adolescents, availability of mediation for resolving parent-school differences, standards for disciplinary procedures for students with disabilities, and flexible age limits for identifying young children as developmentally delayed. Highlights of the new law are also identified concerning: outcomes and standards (e.g., establish student performance goals and indicators); evaluations and curriculum (e.g., accommodations and modifications needed for assessment participation), procedural safeguards (e.g., parental access to all records of their child); discipline (e.g., temporary suspension of students with disabilities); early intervention and preschool services (e.g., early intervention services in natural environments); and teacher training and preparation (training for primary grade regular teachers). (DB)