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Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown outlawed school segregation for racial minorities and poor students and also profoundly impacted the lives of special needs students routinely excluded from any access to free public school education. The court argued in Brown that education "is a right that must be made available to all on equal terms." In the same year as the decision, disability rights advocates utilized the precedent set by Brown to argue on behalf of the specialized classroom-based needs of children with disabilities. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1965-2004
IDEA evolved from a stream of federal educational decisions protecting "handicapped" children, including educational legislation President Johnson signed in 1964 as part of the war on poverty, the PARC court decision, and Mills case mandates. PARC deemed the state to be bereft in doing its educational duty and established the groundwork for parent collaboration with the IEP. Mills is legendary: a district cannot claim that inadequate funds are a reason to deny adequate and appropriate services. -
Board of Ed of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, 1982
Amy Rowley excelled in her classes using a hearing aid and lip-reading. Her parents argued that "appropriate" services should include an interpreter in her general education classes. The Supreme Court ruled against the Rowleys, saying that, although districts are required to provide educational benefits, they are not under mandate to provide the maximum services for increasing that child's potential. Rowley limits the mandates of the federal IDEA act, in opposition to its spirit and intent. -
IDEA Expansion, 2004
Laws from 1975 guarantee educational access to children with disabilities while increasingly providing mechanisms for parent participation and collaboration in their child's educational process. The reinvigoration of the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act legislates early intervention, better funding, and enhanced educational outcomes. Funding is examined in this act, as well as the over-representation of minorities in special education classrooms. -
Yazzie/Martinez versus State of New Mexico, 2018
This decision will have far-reaching implication for special education students in mandating academic instruction that is "linguistically and culturally relevant." Professional development monies are mandated for educators also. In 2019, the court further delineated the State of New Mexico's educational obligations, stressing that "t/he defendants must comply with their duty to provide an adequate education and may not conserve financial resources at the expense of our constitutional resources.” -
Links to Landmark decisions in Special Education History
