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Plessy v. Ferguson
The Supreme Court decision in this case established the doctrine that “separate” facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were “equal”. Therefore, racially segregated public facilities were lawful as long as the amenities for whites and blacks were equal. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown case arose because of the consolidation of cases from Delaware, Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington D.C concerning the racial segregation in public schools. The Supreme Court decided that the doctrine of “separate but equal” does not apply within the public education field. -
Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law prohibits the exclusion from participation, denial of benefits or subjecting an individual to discrimination from any program or activity that receives federal financial assistance based on grounds such as race, color or national origin. The significance of this law is that it instilled the desegregation of many aspects of public life, including the education of children in institutions that are federally funded. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)
This law was enacted by Congress and signed into law two days later to address inequality of educational opportunities accorded to less or underprivileged children. It offered resources to guarantee that disadvantaged learners had enhanced access to quality education. ESEA was also amended to create a grant program to assist states to initiate, expand and improve programs and projects aimed at educating handicapped learners. -
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
This case established the right of learners with disabilities to free public education. Therefore, the court ruled that such students with disabilities were entitled to an education irrespective of the cost of education. By establishing that the students in the present case were not granted the due process of the law before being expelled from school, it set the precedent for dealing with students with serious disabilities in schools. -
- Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
This case entrenched the right to education for learners with intellectual disabilities, especially those with mental retardation. This was the first lawsuit to challenge state laws that denied learners with disabilities access to public education. Therefore, the relevance of this decision is that it found that learners with intellectual disabilities had similar right to education as the rest of the population. -
Lau v. Nichols
In this case, the Supreme Court held that denying supplemental language instruction to English learners went against the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As such, English learners had the right to be offered meaningful education. Thus, the court ruled in favor of the students by finding that the school district’s failure to teach the students basic English skills appeared to ridicule the public education system. -
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
This amendment to the existing federal law assured children with disabilities of free and appropriate public education. It also guarantees funding for early intervention and special education services. First, the main purpose of this law is to guarantee education that fulfills the unique needs of the child. It also prepares the student for further education, employment and living independently. The second purpose is to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their parents.