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Brown V. Board of Education
In Brown, school children from four states argued that segregated public schools were inherently unequal and deprived them of equal protection of the laws. The Supreme Court found that African-American children had the right to equal educational opportunities and that segregated schools “have no place in the field of public education.” Parents of disabled children began to argue that excluding these children was also discrimination. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
Congress enacted the ESEA in 1965 to address the inequality of educational opportunity for underprivileged children. This landmark legislation provided resources to help ensure that disadvantaged students had access to quality education. -
ESEA Ammended
In 1966, Congress amended the ESEA to establish a grant program to help states in the “initiation, expansion, and improvement of programs and projects . . . for the education of handicapped children.” In 1970, Congress enacted the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 91-230) in an effort to encourage states to develop educational programs for individuals with disabilities. -
Education of the Handicapped Act
Congress first addressed the education of students with disabilities in 1966 when it amended the ESEA to establish a grant program to assist states in the “initiation, expansion, and improvement of programs and projects for the education of handicapped children.” In 1970, that program was replaced by the Education of the Handicapped Act that, like its predecessor, established a grant program aimed at helping the States develop educational programs and resources for individuals with disabilities. -
Pennsylvania Assn. for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
dealt with exclusion of mentally retarded children from public schools. Agreed that parents must be involved i the children education. -
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
Involved the practice of suspending, expelling and exclusion of children with disabilities from the District of Columbia public schools. The primary defense from the District of Columbia schools was the high cost of education disabled children. -
Legislation was Introduced in Congress
Legislation was Introduced in Congress after several "landmark court case establishing in law the right to education for all handicapped children." -
Public Law 94-142: The Education for all Handicapped Children Act
Congress intended that all children with disabilities would “have a right to education, and to establish a process by which State and local educational agencies may be held accountable for providing educational services for all handicapped children.”
Initially, the law focused on ensuring that children with disabilities had access to an education and due process of law. Congress included an elaborate system of legal checks and balances called “procedural safeguards” -
No Child Left Behind Act
The purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act is “to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.” -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
On December 3, 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was amended again. The reauthorized statute is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and is known as IDEA 2004.In reauthorizing the IDEA, Congress increased the focus on accountability and improved outcomes by emphasizing reading, early intervention, and research-based instruction by requiring that special education teachers be highly qualified.
