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Brown v. Board of Education
Known as the legal foundation of special education, Brown v. the Board of Education laid the groundwork that gave children with exceptionalities the right to a public education. Although this law was focused on African American and White segregation within schools, it brought about attention to other "minority" groups, which led to additional strives in special education. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
ESEA was signed into law in 1965 in order to fight against the War on Poverty in the United States during that time. Low-income families and rural area schools were showing educational delays among their students, so this law provided funding to schools to provide sufficient resources to close those gaps. -
PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children fought against the state with the Brown v. the Board of Education and 14th Constitutional Amendment as their basis for the case. PA had a law in place that prohibited students with a mental capacity of a 5-year-old or younger entering the first grade from attending public school, which violated their rights to a fair and equal opportunity for education. After the win, the new law protected students' public education until the age of 21. -
Mills v. Board of Education
Mills v. the Board of Education is an enhancement of PARC v. PA, such that it fought to encompass all children with exceptionalities to be given an equal right to public education. In this case, appropriate funding was not available for private education for these children. The Board of Education was responsible for the inclusion of these children into public schools, no matter the funding for general education. This law ensured that all schools provided reasobable funding for SPED resources. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 504 is a civil rights law that affects handicapped and disabled children within an educational setting. This Act protects children with disabilities that may physically or mentally impair major life activities. It requires schools to reasonably accommodate students' needs in the maximum way possible with an accommodation plan. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Referred to as the "Bill of Rights" for handicapped children, this Act put into legislation the right to a free appropriate public education within the least restricted environment with an individualized education program plan with goals and instructions for services to help achieve academic, physical, and social goals. A multidisciplinary team must work with parents to set those goals, and parent involvement in the student's education was mandatory. -
Amendment to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act
A reauthorization to EHA encompassed children who were born with exceptionalities. It mandates services to these children from birth, whereas the original Act only mandated these services beginning at age 3. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Originally the Education of Handicapped Children Act, IDEA changed the legislation's name and reauthorized the Act. It expanded on the previous ideals by including traumatic brain injuries and autism as disabilities. It also mandated a transition plan to be on the students' IEPs to help work towards goals for life after secondary education is completed. -
Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
This amendment to IDEA required all students with disabilities to participate in general education curriculum, as well as state and district standardized testing. It also requires general education teachers to be involved in the student's IEP. The "development delay" label was also expanded to include children up until 9-years-old. -
No Child Left Behind Act
A reauthorization to ESEA, this new law mandated annual math, reading, and science testing for ALL students in grades 3-8 in order to uncover proficiency levels, unless they have exemptions on their IEPs. This law requires schools to have 100% proficiency or programs to help boost those scores will need to be implemented, such as tutoring programs. NCLB also required teachers to be "highly qualified" and Common Core State Standards was implemented, which challenges Special Education teachers.