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14th Amendment
Provided that all citizens are entitled to "equal protection" of the law -
American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities formed
Originally formed as the Association of Medial Officers of American Institutions for Idiotic and Feeble-minded Persons. The name has evolved through the years to reflecting the advances in the understanding of people with disabilities. -
Separate Car Act
Passed in Louisiana requiring "equal, but separate" train car accommodations -
Watson vs the City of Cambridge
Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that a child who was "weak of mind" could be expelled from public school -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Decision by US Supreme Court that established the doctrine of "separate but equal" -
Compulsory Education Laws
Compulsory Education laws are enacted in all states, but allowed exemptions for children mentally or physically unfit to attend -
Beattie vs Board of Education
Allowed a student to be expelled due to physical disabilities -
Brown vs Board of Education
Supreme Court declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." Although this case was in the context of race, it would later be applied to students with disabilities. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Enacted under President Johnson emphasizing equal access to education. -
Robert Kennedy tours Willowbrook State School
Kennedy tours Willowbrook and speaks out against the state of the school bringing awareness to state run institutions for children with disabilities. -
PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Required the state to provide free public education to all children regardless of disability. -
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
Court ruled that students with disabilities must be given "free public education and training appropriate to their learning capacities." -
Rehabilitation Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This act required that all children with disabilities have access to education in public schools. -
Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley
The Rowley decision stated that special education services need to be reasonably likely to provide "some benefit" from the education provided. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
In 1990, Congress reauthorized EHA and the new act became IDEA. -
Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District
Parents sued a school district after they refused to provide a sign language interpreter for their deaf child after he transferred to a private school. The court mandated the school district to provide the government program. -
IDEA amendment in 1997
President Clinton reauthorized IDEA with amendments including access to same curriculum and an expansion of the definition of "developmental delay." -
No Child Left Behind
In 2001, President Bush reauthorized the ESEA "to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education." -
ADA Amendments Act of 2008
Signed by President Bush, this amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 gave broader definitions of disabilities. -
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District
The court ruled that IDEA "requires an educational program reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child's circumstances."
