Special Education Law Timeline

By maryelarias

  • 1954

    1954
    Brown v. Board of Education: Supreme Court rules that segregation in public schools is inconstitutional. This began the movement of equality in terms of education.

  • 1965

    1965
    Elementary and Secondary Education Act provided resources to make sure that disadvantaged students had access to a quality education

  • 1973

    1973
    Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This act prohibits discrimination based on a person’s disability in all programs receiving federal funds. This provides a free appropriate public education to children and youth with specific disabilities.

  • 1975

    1975
    PL 94-142 guaranteed a free appropriate education to each child with a disability. This law had a positive impact to millions of children with disabilities.

  • 1975

    1975
    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a law that gives every student with a disability the opportunity to engage in an education process that is equal to the other students.

  • 1989

    1989
    Timothy W. v Rochester School District case led to zero-rejection policy due to a student being denied special education because the school felt that the students disability was too severe.

  • 1992

    1992
    The Americans with Disabilities Act protects people with disabilities from being discriminated against. This is very important in school and also in the workplace.

  • 2002

    2002
    No child left behind. This mirrored President George W. Bush’s importance to educational reform and accountability. This act states that all students, including those in special education, are expected to demonstrate proficiency in mathematics, reading, and science.

  • 2004

    2004
    Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. This act increased focus of special education from simply ensuring access to education to improving the educational performance of students with disabilities and aligning special education services with the larger national school improvement efforts that include standards, assessments, and accountability.

  • 2010

    2010
    Rosa’s Law was enacted and removed the terms mental retardation and mentally retarded from federal health, education, and labor statues. Instead of those words, we find intellectual disability to be the preferred language.