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Brown v. Board of education
On May 17, 1945, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the Brown to Topeka Board of Education to separate children by race. This legal ruling had a very significant impact on the special education sector (The University of Kansas) -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
On April 9, 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson concluded the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. As part of the war on poverty, it called for federal funds as well as equal access to education for all students. The law emphasizes equal access to education and establishes high standards and responsibilities so that all students with disabilities can be included in the student achievement system (The University of Kansas) -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
On October 8, 1971, the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC)v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Eastern District supported students with intellectual and learning disabilities from state educational institutions. PARC v. Penn required students with disabilities to be placed in publicly funded school settings that meet their individual educational needs based on appropriate assessments (Disability Justice). -
In the Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia case
December 17, 1971, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has identified students with mental and learning disabilities or behavioral problems as exceptions. The court ruled that students with disabilities should receive public education even if they could not afford to pay for it, which ensured that the children had the right to receive free public education and training appropriate to their learning ability (Preceden). -
Congressional Investigation
On June 28,1972, the PARC and Mills rulings began to identify how many children needed special education. The Bureau of Education for the Handicapped found 8 million children need special education. Among them, 3.9 million students met the educational needs, 2.5 million received substandard education, and 1.75 million were not in school (The University of Kansas). -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
On November 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Children with Disabilities Act, known as Public Law 94-142. The law provided equal access to education for children with disabilities in all states accepting funding from the federal government and had to provide one free meal per day. The state has required compliance with the law in all public school systems (The University of Kansas). -
Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley
It is the US Supreme Court's case on the education of children with disabilities. Amy Rowley is a deaf student. The school refused to provide sign language interpreters, and her parents filed a lawsuit for violations of all 1975 education laws. The judge ruled in 6-3 that the school did not need to provide a sign language interpreter for hearing-impaired students who are equally and properly educated by law (Mass Legal Services). -
Handicapped Children's Protection Act
On August 6, 1986, Reagan signed the Handicapped Children's Protection Act so that parents of children with disabilities could offer more input on the development of their child's Individual Education Plan or IEP (The University of Kansas). -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
On January 1, 1990, Public Law 101-476 called for a major change to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Traumatic brain injury and autism were added as a new category of disability, and as part of the IEP, we required that individual transition plans or ITPs be developed to enable students to live beyond post-secondary education (The University of Kansas). -
Reauthorized IDEA
On June 4, 1997, The Education for all Handicapped Children's Act became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. President Clinton reapproved the IDEA with several major amendments, emphasizing giving all students access to the same curriculum. The state has also expanded the definition of development delays from birth to five years of age and has included six to nine years of age (The University of Kansas). -
Congress amended IDEA
On December 3, 2004, Raised the standard for instructors teaching special education. The state also required that up to 15 percent of special education funds be converted to general education if it was determined that a small group of students from the underprivileged of the local school district were assigned to special education for reasons other than disability (The University of Kansas).
