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Plessy v. Ferguson
( https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/plessy-v-ferguson)
This U, S Supreme Court case rooted from an African American who after sitting down in a white passenger train he was asked to leave and refusing to do so he was arrested. Plessy then filed a petition stating that his “Equal Rights” were violated. This law supported segregation in a “separate but equal” approach. The “separate but equal “principle meant that students with disabilities would have separate facilities. -
Brown v Board of Education
(https://youtu.be/NBlqcAEv4nk?si=Zq0y8K7hwoQz8_em)
In this Supreme Court case it was ruled that segregation in public schools violated the fourteenth amendment stating that education was not equal. The “separate but equal” principle established by Plessy vs. Ferguson was rejected. It was finally agreed that being separate did not mean equality. For students to receive a fair and equal education they all need to integrate. -
Diana v. California State Board
During this state court trial there was a Spanish speaking student named Diana placed in a Mental Retardation class because she scored low on an English Language IQ test. The court then ruled that the California school district was to provide the same test to her and other individuals in the same scenario the test in the native language. As a result, the students scored much higher after taking the test in their native language. Therefore, students were then allowed to access regular classrooms. -
Mills v. Board of Education DC
This was a lawsuit against the Board of Education of the District of Columbia because students with disabilities were being denied an education due to the cost. Thankfully, the court ruled in favor of the students and stated that students with disabilities were no longer to be denied education. This ruling allowed all students with any type of disability access to an equal education. -
PARC Decision
Unfortunately, during this time students that had “Mental Retardation” were denied a proper education by the school system. If a child had “Mental Retardation” their family would have to pay for their education, unfortunately not every family had the ability to pay for their child to go to school and obtain a good education. Luckily, the court ruled in favor of the students’ allowing students with “mental retardation” to obtain an equal education as well. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
This law prohibited individuals with disabilities from becoming discriminated against if the government provided funding to the institution. For example, if a school obtained funding from the government, then they could not discriminate against students with special needs. This law completely protects students with special needs. -
Public Law (PL) 94-142
This law is also known as the: Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). This law protected the rights of children with disabilities to access an inclusive education. Aa a result, students had the right to obtain an Individualized Education Plan or (IEP) . This law assisted students in receiving a fair education designed to meet their needs -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The American with Disabilities Act is a law that was passed in 1975. This law strictly prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, the law requires that in school all students have accessibility as well. This is a very important law in special Education because it allows all students the opportunity to go to school without any impediment despite their disability. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
This law guarantees that all students with a disability have access to a free and appropriate public education based on each student’s needs. This law also provides students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and a least restrictive environment must be determined along with their IEP. This law is basically a summary of every pass law and court case put into one to ensure that children with special needs access an equitable education. -
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District
A student was pulled out of public-school education because the child’s IEP was not indicating any progress for the child. Therefore, the Supreme Court decided that these IEP’s need to be designed to meet specific goals and objectives. This case made special education departments evaluate the IEP’s being created for special needs students and makes them create realistic goals so that students with disabilities can make a reasonable amount of progress.