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Brown v. Board of Education
The outcome of Brown v. Board of Education ended racial segregation in public schools. After this decision was made, parents of children with disabilities began to bring lawsuits against their school districts for excluding and segregating children with disabilities. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
ESEA was initially passed to help under privileged children with educational opportunities. In 1966 it was amended by congress, leading to the initiation, expansion and improvement of programs and projects for the education of handicapped children. -
Education of the Handicapped Act
This act established a grant program aimed at stimulating the States to develop educational programs and resources for individuals with disabilities. -
PARC v. Pennsylvania
In 1971 the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for denying an education to children who had not attained a mental age of 5 years. The case was a success for PARC, but it never made it above the district level. It did manage to spark Mills v. Board of Education in Washington DC. These two cases ultimately lead to a federal victory in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1974. -
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
This case established in the district of Columbia that all children are entitled to free public education and training appropriate to their learning capacities. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
"Section 504 is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. It ensures that each child with a disability have equal access to an education" (Wight, 2018). -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This act requires all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical or mental disabilities. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
A civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
In this version of the special education law 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. -
Every Student Suceeds Act
This re-authorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. This retains the annual standardized testing requirement but shifts the law's federal accountability provision to the states.
