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Brown v. Board of Education
This was a landmark case in which the Supreme Court decided that the segregation of schools by race was unconstitutional. It did not matter that resources were being equally distributed to the two types of schools. This was monumental because it was the first time the federal government stood up for students that had been discriminated against up until then. -
Department of Public Welfare v. Haas
In this case, the Supreme Court of Illinois ruled that free and public education was not for the “feeble minded” or the “mentally deficient.” They said that because these children had limited intelligence, they were not reaping the rewards of a good and free public education. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The ESEA was an act that made the federal government protect and provide underprivileged students. These students would now have equal access to a free public education. An important part of the ESEA was a grant that would encourage states to provide services for students with disabilities. -
The Education of the Handicapped Act
ESEA is revised into The Education of the Handicapped Act This act reinforced the fact that state-run programs for individuals with disabilities would exist. What it neglected to do, though, was to specify any guidelines for the programs or detail what the programs should look like. -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The ruling for this court case stated that the state was not allowed to deny access to a free public education to any mentally retarded child. -
Mills v. The Board of Education of The District of Columbia
This case was similar to the PARC case of 1971. It required the state to provide adequate alternative schooling and services to handicapped children. These services included hearings, periodic reviews of child’s status and progress. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
(EHA) AKA Passage of Public Law 94-142 The passage of P.L. 94-142 required that ALL children, regardless of their disabilities, received a free and appropriate public education. This meant that their needs would be identified and addressed, all within the general education. -
Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley
This court case made the definition of a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) clear. It said that P.L. 94-142 would provide sufficient (not the best possible) support for disabled children so that they could benefit from a public education the way a non-disabled child would. -
Honig v. Doe
This court case ruled that children could not be expelled from school because of behavior problems that related to a disability. This included students who had emotional or behavior disorders that created academic or social problems at school. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
This act makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation. It also ensures that they get special education and related services. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/ -
Cedar Rapids v. Garret
This ruling stated that children that require supplemental services to attend school should receive them at no extra cost to the parents. Garret was a student that had had an accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He required a nurse to attend school with him. -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
This act was an act to close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility and choice so that no child would be left behind. It revised the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. It basically said that in order for states to receive federal school funding, they had to develop and give assessments to all students. This was to hold the states accountable.
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Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA)
This updated act required schools to report the progress of students with disabilities on standardized tests. The main goal was to hold schools and states accountable and to help improve the graduation and dropout rates. -
Winkelman v. Parma City School District
This case ruled that parents may pursue IDEA claims on their behalf independent from that of the student’s rights. These particular parents felt that their child with disabilities was not being given a free and appropriate education. As a result, they put their child in a private school and wanted to be reimbursed for the cost of the private school. The court ruled in favor of the parents saying that they, too were protected under the IDEA Act. -
Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA)
This Act replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. The ESSA has many components of the NCLB Act but provided additional opportunities for schools when students are not making adequate progress. It gave more of the students accountability to the state and local governments and less to the federal government.
