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President's Committee on Mental Retardation
President John F. Kennedy was an influence on the progression of serving children with disabilities because he had a sister with mental retardation. President Kennedy created a committee that had the duty to find ways the federal government could help individuals with disabilities. This committee made several recommendation that “led to many new federal initiatives, including encouraging school systems to open their doors to students with disabilities”(Wood, 2006,pg 6). -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 1965
The amendments of this 1965 act authorized money to state level grant programs designated for children with disabilities for the first time in our history (Wood, 2006, pg. 6). -
Mills v. District of Columbia Board of Education
This court decision paved the way to mandating that all American public schools open its doors to children with disabilities. This was a class action lawsuit were seven disabled children that were barred from enrolling at the local school. Ultimately, the courts ruled that the districted need to provide these children with a “free, unfettered education, it also ordered the board to advertise the availability of such free education to all disabled children” (Encyclopedia of American Education). -
Willowbrook State School
Willowbrook was a facility that housed and cared for individuals with disabilities in the state of New York. In 1972, investigative reporter Geraldo Rivera uncovered the story of how many of Willowbrooks patients were being mistreated and living in subpar conditions. Shortly after his story was released, the parents of nearly five thousand patients that were living in Willowbrook filed a law suit in federal court vs. the state of New York and Willowbrook for the inhumane living conditions they -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)
Special education programs in the United States were made mandatory in 1975 when the United States Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). This law mandated that all children with disabilities were entitles to a free public education. The states were responsible to adhere to minimum standards in return to receive federal financial assistance (Wood, 2006). The purpose of the law was:
• “to assure that all children with disabilities have available to them…a free ap -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 made many positive changes for Americans with disabilities. This law guaranteed many rights to people with disabilities. Section 504 is widely recognized as a civil-rights statute for individuals with disabilities. 504 included that nobody with a disability could be denied benefits from any program that received federal dollars. This included all public schools: elementary, secondary, and postsecondary (Wood, 2006, pg. 7). -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act 1986
There were some major changes to this act in 1986 which included:
• Created the Part H (now Part C) early intervention program for infants and toddlers
• Clarified that parents and students have rights under both EAHCA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1973
• Authorized preschool incentive grants
• Authorized interagency agreements between schools and state vocational rehabilitations agencies for transitioning students
(Wood, 2006, pg. 10) -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement (Act or IDEA).
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 1990 (IDEA 1990) is the United States law that makes equity, accountability and excellence in education for children with disabilities. This law is the present day version of “The Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975”. On average, changes are made to this every five years. Some of the latest changes have related to the due process, student discipline issues, and individualized education programs. Many schools have -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This was a landmark legislation because prohibits employers from discrimination against people with disabilities during recruitment, hiring, advancement and termination. Title one of this bill also requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. Title three of the act also addressed public accommodations accessibility for the disabled (Wood, 2006, pg19) .
