Historical Events in Special Education

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    When the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to segregate children due to their race it opened a platform for students that are disabled. It was a huge legal landmark to begin fighting for disabled students' rights.
  • Public Law 101-476

    New changes were added to the All Handicapped Children Act as traumatic brain injury and autism were added to a disability category. Also, it was required that an ITP should be added to an IEP.
  • Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia

    In the Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia, the government classified students with mental and learning disabilities and behavioral issues as “exceptional”. This made it unlawful for the DC Board of Education to deny these individuals access to publicly funded educational opportunities.
  • All Handicapped Children Act

    Required states and localities to provide free appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Before this law was enacted only one in five children in the US with a disability were able to attend school. As many schools had laws excluding students with disabilities.
  • Law 99-457

    Law 99-457 was an amendment added to the All Handicapped Children Act. Where it required states to provide services to children with disabilities the moment they were born. As before they were only eligible for these services once they reached the age of 3.
  • USA hosts the 15th World Cup

  • Bad Bunny

    Bad Bunny was born and he would become a major artist around the world in the present day.
  • Mariana was born

  • No Child Left Behind Act

    Congress saw the need to align the IDEA and the No Child Left Behind Act “to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education”. Special education teachers had to meet the requirements of the NCLB act by demonstrating competence in the subjects they teach.
  • Alondra was born

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act

    On December 3, 2004, the special education law was amended and renamed the IDEA. It required special education teachers to be highly qualified and increased the focus on accountability and improved outcomes by focusing on early interventions and reading as well as research-based instruction. One of its purposes is to protect the rights of both children with disabilities and their parents.
  • Hurricane Katrina

  • Period: to

    Graduation Rate

    72.7 percent of students that identified with a disability in the given school year ages 14-21 graduated high school with a regular diploma. Only 16% of students dropped out.