SPED Law Timeline

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    The supreme court ruled segregation of person with disabilities in public schools is unconstitutional. It also began the movement of equality within the education system.
  • The Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    Provided federal funding to states in hopes of improving opportunities for students with disabilities and who were disadvantaged. This was important because they were able to fund the tools necessary for learning.
  • Education of the Handicapped Act

    Training was provided to teachers by federal government funding. Grants helped expand education programs for children with disabilities. This act was a great breakthrough, as teachers were able to get the training needed in order to better assist students with learning.
  • Diana v. State Board of Education

    Diana v. State Board of Education
    IQ tests were no longer biased and given to the students at their appropriate learning level. Assisted with fixing misclassification of students in special education. Which was important because it gave children a better chance at taking the tests rather than giving them test that was not appropriate for their learning level.
  • Mills v. Board of Education

    Deemed it unconstitutional to deny students with disabilities an education. This was immensely important because it gave disadvantaged students much more opportunity to learn in classroom settings.
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

    Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
    Federally funded programs could no longer discriminate against those with disabilities. At this point, it went even further than the school systems. It was not any program that is federally funded.
  • Education for All Handicapped Children Act

    This act was huge. Federal funding was now provided to those who promised they would educate students with disabilities. It required schools to create Individualized Education Plans for each student and established safe guards. This was a major breakthrough because not only are they being educated, they will now receive an individualized plan to help maximize their learning skills.
  • Timothy W v. Rochester School District

    Timothy W v. Rochester School District
    During this time, a student was denied special education services because the school felt his disability was too sever to handle. This led to zero-rejection policy, meaning schools must provide special education services no matter how severe the disability is. I feel that this stopped the excuse of schools saying the child will not benefit.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Act

    Individuals with Disabilities Act
    In 1990, the people first language began. Which meant that students are people before their disability. This gave the public a better understanding of which standpoint to take. The act added traumatic brain injury and autism as new categories to disabilities.
  • The Idea Amendments Act

    Changed the IEP team and added new components to benefit the learning of children with disabilities. Also enforced states to offer intervention efforts to parents before due process hearings. This was beneficial because it allowed improvements to an outdated IEP system.
  • IDEA Improvement Act

    This gave a definition to what a highly qualified special education teacher is and encouraged the use of RTI model in classrooms. Also removed short term goals in IEP's except for those with severe disabilities. Using appropriate models within the classroom helps a student with disabilities learning skills and provides a better environment in general.
  • Endrew F v. Douglas County School District

    Endrew F v. Douglas County School District
    This ruled in favor of a higher standard education for students with disabilities. This was great new for the special education community, as their education would be set at a higher more important system.