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Brown v. Board of Education
Although Brown v. Board of Education didn’t have anything to do directly with students who have disabilities, it paved the way to diminish discrimination within schools. It was the first time that the government stepped up for equality in education. -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was one of the early cases that began a movement for equality within education for students with special needs. This case helped to create the expectation that schools could no longer deny access to education for a student based on mental ability. -
Vocational Rehabilitiaiton Act
The Vocational Rehabilitation Act defined what an appropriate education is. This was an incredibly important step to help understand that not all handicaps are the same. This Act also defined what a handicap is and forwarded the movement to exclude discrimination from federally funded programs. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act specified that a free and appropriate education must be available to all children ages 5 to 18. This is when IEPs and Least Restrictive Environment came into play to help students achieve their most appropriate education. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
IDEA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act began to establish the way we talk about students with disabilities by implying that a student is their disability, rather they are themselves with a disability. This is called people-first language. Overall, this act expanded the rights of students with disabilities immensely in areas of services, language, transitions, and confidentiality. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
In 1997 IDEA expanded to help students receive services even if they were not within the school. It also pushed for students with disabilities to have more access to the general education classroom and to include classroom teachers on the IEP teams. This version of IDEA also expanded legal rights for families in relation to mediation and legal fees. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, districts can now use the Response to Intervention model to help determine if a student has a specific learning disability. This act also raised standards in order to become licensed in special education and also increased funding for early intervention services.
