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Civil Rights Act of 1866
This act granted citizenship and the same rights to all US males regardless of race or previous time spent as a slave or servant. This law was enacted by the 39th congress of the US. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Landmark supreme court decision to uphold "separate but equal" segregation in all public areas including schools. -
Brown Vs. Board of Educaiton
Landmark supreme court ruling (9-0) stating that state sponsored segregation of schools is unconstitutional under the 14th amendment. This ruling opened the pathway for integration of all races into schools. However, no plan was included in the ruling for the actual desegregation of schools. -
Creation of the Bureau of Education of the Handicapped
In 1965, congress adds title VI to the secondary education act. Education of those with disabilities is still not a federal requirement however. The addition of title VI alludes to a future change though. -
PARC Vs Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Courts rule that the denial of education services to those with disabilities is illegal. Children with disabilities will now have equal access to an education. No federal law is put in place supporting this ruling however many students began going to school. -
Mill Vs. DC Board of Education
Court rules that disabled students must be given a public education regardless of financial constraints on the school districts. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is enacted into statute
New national law protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. Many educators went unaware of this law for a while. -
Family Education Rights and Privacy Act is Enacted.
Parents are allowed to have access to all information collected, or used by a school pertaining to their child. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)
This Act required that all schools receiving federal funding to provide equal access to public education along with one free meal per day to any student with a mental or physical disability. Schools would be required to work with parents and educational staff to create a plan for the student that would best emulate the education of a non-disabled student. -
Americans with Disabilities Act is Enacted
The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities in all aspects of life like jobs, schools, transportation, and work. The law makes sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. -
The EAHCA is amended to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Major changes were made to the old act including mandated transitional services to disabled students, FAPE, IEPs, Least Restrictive Environment, and Procedural Safeguards. -
No Child Left Behind Act
No Child Left Behind is the update of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This update required that states test students annually in language arts and mathematics. Individual schools, school districts, and states are to report test results for all students, as well as for specific student subgroups, including low-income students, students with disabilities, English language learners, and major racial and ethnic groups. -
IDEA Reauthorized
IDEA was reauthorized by federal government and included changes to the ways schools report data, more accountability for results on a state and local level, and a mandate to assure that schools are making efforts to prevent and help students from going into special education if they do not need to.
