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Prior to IDEA
Since 1900 up to the 70s, from children to adults with learning disabilities were overlooked by American society. They were denied the right to an education, seen as a burden on society who could not be assimilated in public schools. Instead, they were unnecessarily put in mental institutions where conditions were atrocious. Many did not have learning disabilities, and many were minorities. Most schools would not accept them, and those that did served no help in their education. -
The Case That Laid The Groundwork (Brown vs Board of Education)
In this historic Supreme Court case, it was decided for all African-American children that they had the right to attend public schools along with Caucasian children, instead of being segregated like before. This was so important to future learning disability laws in relation to equality. This case laid the groundwork in establishing all students are equal regardless of their person, and are equally deserving of a public education together. -
A Basic Protection Against Discrimination
The ESEA was turned into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson, and was a basic protection for students of diverse backgrounds against discrimination from their right to an education. Section 8534 of that act discusses civil rights and mentions that it is forbidden to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or disability. It wasn't as significant in protecting students with learning disabilities, but it was a basic step towards equality in the public school system. -
One More Significant Legal Case
In 1971, the revolution started to provide equal protections to students with learning disabilities. PARC decided to sue the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania because students with learning disabilities were allowed to be discriminated against. A state law determined that students who had not reached the mental capacity of a 5 year-old could not attend public schools, and that was targeting students with learning disabilities. The federal court handling the case ruled in favor of PARC. -
Two More Significant Legal Cases
The next legal case supporting the revolution to provide equality to students with learning disabilities was Mills vs Board of Education. Happening in Washington DC, a district court heard an argument saying students should not be classified as unable to receive a public education because of behavioral or other issues. There was a lot of cases in Washington DC where students with disabilities were denied a right to an education, but that lawsuit prohibited that from happening. -
Looking Into the Reality of the Issue
Before passing any sort of official legislation protecting students with learning disabilities, the US Congress wanted to find out more about what kind of problem these students were facing. The truth was shocking. They discovered in 1972 that nearly two million children were receiving zero education, two and a half million were receiving inadequate education, and about 200,000 were put in institutions hidden away from society. They realized a law needed to be passed to protect these children. -
Finally a Law is Passed
An official law was finally passed addressing the discrimination that students with learning disabilities faced. The law was called Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and it required that any public school funded by federal money accept children with learning disabilities, and give them the equal opportunity to learn with the rest of the students. They had to follow regulations, and students with learning disabilities were given more protections under federal law. -
Extending the Protections
The original law signed by President Gerald Ford began to provide protections for a child with learning disabilities when they turned 3. An amendment called Public Law 99-457 extended the protections by putting into public law that a child with learning disabilities is entitled to public services from the moment they are born, not starting at age 3. -
Parents Are Given the Power
President Ronald Reagan in 1986 signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Protection Act. This law was very significant in furthering not only the rights of students with learning disabilities, but also that of the parents. Parents were empowered to stand up for their children and be able to determine what kind of education their children will receive by establishing Individual Education Plans or IEPs for their children. -
The IDEA Becomes a Reality
The law that President Ronald Reagan had signed into law became into the IDEA under President Bill Clinton. Not only did the law determine that all students regardless of having a learning disability or not were entitled to learn the same material, states were given the flexibility to determine certain age qualifications for students so that they could benefit from services that were offered to them. The IDEA had finally become a reality for students with learning disabilities.
