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Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (Public Law 89-10)
This act proved to be a catalyst for future educational legislation. The act supported initiatives that help low-income families’ access high-quality education, included provisions for free and reduced lunches, and applied to children who need additional support to benefit from public school education programs. -
Mills v. D.C. Board of Education & PARC v. Pennsylvania
Two landmark decisions made through the Supreme Court decide that children with disabilities should have an equal right to access education. -
Vocational Rehabilitation Act (VRA) (Public Law 93-112)
The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by Federal agencies, in programs receiving Federal financial assistance, in Federal employment, and in the employment practices of Federal contractors. The Act also includes a variety of provisions focused on rights, advocacy and protections for individuals with disabilities. The Act also includes a variety of provisions focused on rights, advocacy and protections for individuals with disabilities. -
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Amendments Act (FERPA) (Public Law 93-380)
Defines handicapped person, appropriate education and prohibits discrimination against students with disabilities in federally funded programs. As first enacted, FERPA provided parents with the right to inspect and review "any and all official records, files, and data directly related to their children, including all material that is incorporated into each student's cumulative record folder, and intended for school use or to be available to parties outside the school or school system. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) (Public Law 94-142, Part B)
Specific learning disabilities was recognized and was intended to provide administrators with proof of compliance, teachers with formalized plans, parents with a voice, and students with an appropriate education. Along with assurances of nondiscriminatory evaluation, individualized educational planning, and education in the least restrictive environment. -
Education of the Handicapped Act (ADA) (Public Law 99-457)
An amendment to the EHA which extended the purpose of EHA to include children ages 0-5 and included: extending the guarantee to a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)to children with disabilities, ages 3-5, establish Early Intervention Programs (EIP) for infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages 0-2, and developed an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) for each family with an infant/toddler with disabilities. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Public Law 101-476)
This act was enacted which renamed EHA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law expanded the eligibility categories to include autism and traumatic brain injuries as well as defining assistive technology devices and services. -
4 The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments (IDEA) (Public Law 105-17)
This reauthorization of IDEA saw the initiative for transition services. It required a transition plan to be a part of every IEP no later than the child’s sixteenth birthday, every IEP must include present levels of performance, measurable goals, statement of services, and statement of accommodations or modifications, a regular education teacher must be involved in the IEP, and students with IEP’s will participate in State assessment tests. -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
President George Bush established a Commission on Excellence in Special Education to collect information and study issues related to Federal, State, and local special education programs with the goal of recommending policies for improving the education performance of students with disabilities. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) (Public Law 108-446)
Allows districts to use Response to Intervention (RTI) model to determine whether a child has a learning disability (no longer requires that a child have a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability), increases federal funds for early intervention, raises standards for special education licensure, and adopts policies to prevent the disproportionate representation of students in special education by race or ethnicity.
