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Major Legislative Events in Special Education
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Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
This act supported initiatives to help many students. Many of these, like free and reduced lunch programs and extra teachers in poor communities, were aimed at helping students from a lower economic status. -
Educational Amendments Act
This act gave federal money to schools for exceptional learner programs. It also provided the first federal funding for states to have gifted and talented programs. The most important aspect for special education is that this act allowed for students and parents to receive due process in their special education placement. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)
This law, also known as the Mainstreaming Law, requires that all states "provide a free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities up to age 18. This law also brought about the creation of IEPs, and came up with the first definition of least restrictive environment. -
Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments
These amendments changed the youngest age for students to receive help from special education. It lowered the previous age of 5 to 3 years. It also allowed for early intervention programs for infants and toddlers (birth to 2 years). -
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
This major law was a huge landmark in the history of special education and for people with disabilities. This act prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector. It allowed people to have equal opportunities for employment, public services, accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. It also added people with AIDS to the definition of disability. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
This law replaced the EAHCA. It established "people first" language. Many types of assistance, like social work, assistive technology, and rehabilitation services, were added to special education. Many other legal rights, such as due process and confidentiality, were expanded. Autism and TBI were added to the list of disabilities. Help was also required for bilingual education programs. Transitions services became required for students as they got older. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
An expansion of the 1990 law, the 1997 law helped bring and keep more students in general education. Schools were required to have general ed teachers be part of the IEP teams, extend the use of "developmental delay" through age 9, continue services for expelled students, allowed special ed teachers to help in the general education classes, and added proactive behavioral management plans to IEPs. -
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (repealed in 2015)
This act was met with some anger from teachers and parents. It was supposed to improve school performance by using standardized tests to hold schools "accountable". As long as the standards were met, states could be more flexible with how they used federal money. Students who were enrolled in "failing schools" were given the option to change schools. Early reading interventions were added. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA)
This law allows districts to use RTIs (response to intervention) to decide what amount of accommodation is necessary for a student with special needs. It gave more money to provide early intervention services so students can stay in general education. The standards were raised for special education licensure.
