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Brown v. Board of Education 1954
In 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court issued a civil rights decision in Brown v. Board of Education that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional and it began the movement of equality in education. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
Provided state federal money to states in order to improve opportunities for students who were disadvantaged. Not only did it include students who were at a disadvantage but also fro children with disabilities. It was the first time congress addressed education for students with disabilities and by a year later the ESEA amended to provide for children with disability. -
PARC v. Commonwealth of PA (
It was a case where the commonwealth were sued for denying a free education to children who were 8 years of age but had not reached the mental age of 5. It required schools to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education for children with mental retardation.
In the following settlement, it was also agreed upon that educational placement decisions must include parental participation and a means to resolve disputes. -
Mills v. Board of Education (1972)
Mills involved the practice of suspending, expelling and excluding several children with disabilities from the District of Columbia public schools. The school district’s primary defense in Mills was the high cost of educating children with disabilities. Since segregation was deemed unconstitutional, it also is unconstitutional to deny students with disabilities as education. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
Congress intended that all children with disabilities should be provided the 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. Started requiring schools to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). -
Hendrick Hudson School v. Rowley (1982)
Was a school being sued because a interpreter was being taken away from a deaf student but court case was ruled in favor of school because Amy Rowley was succeeding without the interpreter and therefore offered a new interpretation and definition of Free Appropriate Public Education. -
Timothy W v. Rochester School District (1989)
This case required school boars to provide special educational services no matter how severe their disabilities are and started because a student was denied special education services because the school felt his disability was "too severe". -
Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1990
This act became a law in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life and added information about traumatic brain injury and autism as new categories of disability. -
The Idea Amendments of 1997
This act reorganized the structure of IDEA and began requiring states to have policies and procedures in place to ensure (FAPE) for all students with disabilities and also offer intervention efforts to parents before due process hearings. -
IDEA Improvement Act of 2004
This act provided an education that met a child’s unique needs and prepares the child for further education, employment, and independent living and also protect the rights of both children with disabilities and their parents. This act was amended several times but this act gave the definition of a "highly qualified" special education teacher.