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The U.S. Supreme Court decided in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case that it was unconstitutional for educational institutions to segregate children by race. This landmark legal ruling would have far-reaching implications for the special education arena. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
ESEA was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson as part of the “War on Poverty.” ESEA not only called for equal access to education for all students but also federal funding for both primary and secondary education for students disadvantaged by poverty. -
Education Fact
In 1970, U.S. schools educated only one in five children with disabilities, and many states had laws excluding certain students, including children who were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed, or had an intellectual disability. -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided in favor of students with intellectual and learning disabilities in state-run institutions. PARC v. Penn called for students with disabilities to be placed in publicly funded school settings that met their individual educational needs, based on a proper and thorough evaluation. -
In the Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia
In the Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia students classified as “exceptional”—including those with mental and learning disabilities and behavioral issues. This ruling made it unlawful for the D.C. Board of Education to deny these individuals access to publicly funded educational opportunities. -
Congressional Investigation
In the wave of the PARC and Mills ruling, [AR1] Congress set out to uncover how many children with special education needs were being underserved. The Bureau of Education for the Handicapped found that there were eight million children requiring special education services. Of this total, 3.9 million students adequately had their educational needs met, 2.5 million were receiving a substandard education and 1.75 million weren’t in school. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, otherwise known as Public Law 94-142. This law required all states that accepted money from the federal government were required to provide equal access to education for children with disabilities, in addition to providing them with one free meal per day. States had the responsibility to ensure compliance under the law within all of their public school systems. -
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Education Fact
In the 1976-77 school year, 3,694,000 students aged 3 through 21 were served under the Education for all Handicapped Children Act. (EHA) -
Amendment to the All Handicapped Children Act
Public Law 99-457 was an amendment to the All Handicapped Children Act, which mandated that individual states provide services to families of children born with disabilities from the time they are born. Previously, these services were not available until a child reached the age of three. -
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Education Fact
In the 1980-81 school year, 4,144,000 students aged 3 through 21 were served under EHA. By the 1990-91 school year, 4,710,000 infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities from birth through age 21 were served under IDEA. -
Free Appropriate Public Education
1982, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed for the first time, what is meant by a free appropriate public education under EHA. In Hendrick Hudson Dist. Bd. Of Ed. v. Rowley, the Supreme Court concluded that to meet its obligation to provide FAPE, the school district must provide access to specialized instruction and related services which are individually designed to provide educational benefit to the child with a disability. -
President Reagan signed the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act,
President Reagan signed the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act, a law that gave parents of children with disabilities more say in the development of their child’s Individual Education Plan, or IEP. -
Public Law 101-476
Public Law 101-476 called for significant changes to Public Law 94-142, or the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Traumatic brain injury and autism were added as new disability categories. Additionally, Congress mandated that as a part of a student’s IEP, an individual transition plan, or ITP, must be developed to help the student transition to post-secondary life. -
President Clinton reauthorized IDEA
The Education for all Handicapped Children’s Act became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. President Clinton reauthorized IDEA with several key amendments that emphasized providing all students with access to the same curriculum, additionally, states were given the authority to expand the “developmental delay” definition from birth through five years of age to also include students between the ages of six and nine -
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Education Fact
The student with disabilities ages 14 through 21 who were known to have left school in the 1994-95 school year:
• 52% graduated with a regular diploma,
• 63% graduated with a regular diploma or certificate of completion, and
• 34% dropped out. -
Congress amends IDEA
Congress amended IDEA by calling for early intervention for students, greater accountability, and improved educational outcomes, and raised the standards for instructors who teach special education classes. It also required states to demand that local school districts shift up to 15% of their special education funds toward general education if it were determined that a disproportionate number of students from minority groups were placed in special education for reasons other than disability. -
IDEA Regulations
In 2008, the department issued regulations it determined were needed to clarify and strengthen effective implementation and administration of IDEA programs. These IDEA regulations addressed:
• Parental consent for continued special education and related services;
• Non-attorney representation in due process hearings;
• State monitoring, technical assistance, and enforcement;
• Allocation of funds; and
• Positive efforts to employ and advance in employment individuals with disabilities. -
Revision
A 2017 revision reflected changes made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by Rosa’s Law, which replaces references to “mental retardation” in Federal law with “intellectual disability” or “intellectual disabilities.” -
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IDEA Part B & C
More than 64% of children with disabilities were in general education classrooms 80% or more of their school day (IDEA Part B Child Count and Educational Environments Collection), and early intervention services were provided to more than 400,000 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families (IDEA Part C Child Count and Settings). -
Education Fact 2019 School Year
7,130,238 students with disabilities from 3 through 21 were served under IDEA, Part B.