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Prior to the Late 1960's and 1970's
Students with disabilities were segregated from mainstream classrooms if they were even allowed to attend school. Schools were able to exclude certain students from education based on their disabilities or perceived disabilities. -
Brown Versus Board of Education of Topeka
This landmark civil rights case established that separate does not constitute equal and could be seen as the seed of inclusion for students with disabilities. Parents of students with disabilities were now able to demonstrate the inequality in the way their children were being treated. -
Around 1968- the beginnings
Schools just began to allow some students with mild disabilities to "visit" general education classrooms without actually providing them with general instruction. Schools were beginning to implement policies around some forms of inclusion. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Supports provision of accommodations for children who have a disability but do not require special education services. -
Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
PL94-142 was enacted to guarantee an education to all students with disabilities throughout the United States at no cost to the families. -
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Amendments to EAHCA
Amendments changed the name of this law to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and began to support providing services to infants and toddlers as well as supporting programs to help individuals with disabilities transition from school into more independent adult living.
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html -
PL99-457
Amendment to 1975's PL94-142 mandating that states provide services for infants and toddlers as well as individuals aged 3-21. -
No Child Left Behind ACT
Began requiring that children with mild disabilities achieve the same standards in education as their peers, as evidenced by passing the same standardized tests. This also stipulated that teachers be "highly qualified." This stipulation is what initially barred me, as a community counselor, from transitioning into school counseling, because I would have been only provisionally certifiable for my first year. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
Reauthorized IDEA and added provisions for increasing timespan of IEP's and specifying standards for discipline of children with disabilities.