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Ruby Bridges
1960 -First grader Ruby Bridges is the first African American to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. She becomes a class of one as parents remove all Caucasian students from the school -
Bilingual and Bicultural Schools in Miami
In response to the large number of Cuban immigrant children arriving in Miami after the Cuban Revolution, Coral Way Elementary School starts the first bilingual and bicultural public school in the United States. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
1968 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Nobel Prize winner and leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4th. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, observed on the third Monday of January, celebrates his "life and legacy." -
First African American Educator
1968 - Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, an African American educator, becomes the first African American woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress. -
Indian Education become Law
1972 - The Indian Education Act becomes law and establishes "a comprehensive approach to meeting the unique needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students" -
Equal Educational Opportunities
1974 - The Equal Educational Opportunities Act is passed. It prohibits discrimination and requires schools to take action to overcome barriers which prevent equal protection. The legislation has been particularly important in protecting the rights of students with limited English proficiency.. -
Disabilities Education Act
1990 - Public Law 101-476, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), renames and amends Public Law 94-142. In addition to changing terminology from handicap to disability, it mandates transition services and adds autism and traumatic brain injury to the eligibility list. -
Prop 187
1994 - As a backlash to illegal immigration, California voters pass Proposition 187, denying benefits, including public education, to undocumented aliens in California. It is challenged by the ACLU and other groups and eventually overturned. -
Bill Clinton Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
1996 - President Bill Clinton signs the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 into law on September 30th.. It prohibits states from offering higher education benefit based on residency within a state (in-state tuition) to undocumented immigrants unless the benefit is available to any U.S. citizen or national. This law conflicts, however, with practices and laws in several U.S. states. -
Transgender Students
2014 - The Minnesota State High School League votes on December 4 to adopt a policy allowing transgender students to join female sports teams. Minnesota is the 33rd state to have a formal transgender student policy.
