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Brown v. Board of Edcuation
This court case was the origin of education equality, as it ended racial segregation in schools. Making sure that every child of any race could attend the same school would lay the groundwork for education equality. Although we still have racial disparities in schools, ridding the main legislation hindering racial equality was a great start. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
This piece of legislation was meant to equalize educational opportunities between privileged and under-privileged children. Congress gave grants to states in order for them to implement programs to help children in need. This legislation went beyond race and tried to make sure that a child's position on the socioeconomic ladder had to weight in the quality of education they received. -
Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia
This court case made it illegal for kids classified as exceptional to be denied public education. The term exceptional encapsulated students with mental and learning disabilities, as well as those with behavioral issues. This expanded the desire for equal education beyond race and class by making sure kids with all mental capabilities could get a quality education. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This piece of legislation sought to provide all children with disabilities a quality education. It made sure that students with disabilities had access to education by assisting states in providing an effective education to children with disabilities. This was the ultimate government intervention in making sure children with disabilities had access to education. -
Handicapped Children’s Protection Act
Although legislation was put into place to make sure all children could receive an education, there was still work to be done. President Raegan signed this legislation into place to ensure the students' IEPs, or Individual Education Plan, was able to be customized by their parents so that the children had an education that fit them better than their "typical" peers. -
Public Law 101-476
This was a law put into place to change Public Law 94-142. It added traumatic brain injury autism to the disability categories. -
Move to North Carolina
Around this time was when me and my family moved to North Carolina after my dad's residency had ended. I have lived here ever since, and it is interesting to think about what would happen if we had stayed in Atlanta. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendment
This extension of IDEA advocated for earlier intervention in students with disabilities. It forced states to shift upwards of 15% of their special education funds to general education if there was a disproportionate amount of minorities were in special education but not due to disability. -
Katrina
This was around the time that the rains from Katrina hit my area of Asheville, North Carolina. This event was important to me because it was one of the first times where I witnessed severe weather and its damages to my school's infrastructure. -
Obama Becomes President
This event was important to me because this was the first time I witnessed my parents deal with financial problems. My dad is a doctor and with Obamacare passing, he was worried that our financial situation would become bad, so we had to tighten up our spending. -
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District Re-1
This Supreme Court case made the IEP system more robust. It put emphasis on students using IEPs to be able to complete challenging objectives. -
COVID
This was around the time when NC State extended spring break due to COVID. I remember being excited because I thought after two weeks to a few months, everything would be back to normal, so I saw it as an extended break. Little did I know I would still be dealing with it. -
The Taliban Takes Over
The most recent item on this list, this drew the unfortunate end to the war on terror. This was important because we were in Afghanistan for most of my life, so seeing the unfortunate circumstances that came about after our withdrawal was very frightening.