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Early History 1890-1940
1890-1940 The first special Education programs were delinquency prevention programs for “at-risk” children who lived in urban slums. By 1890, thousand of children were learning carpentry, metalwork, sewing, cooking and drawing in manual classes. Early special education programs also focused on the “moral training” of African-American children. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court issued a civil right decision in Brown v. Board of Education. In which school children from four states argued that segregated public schools were unfair and deprived students of equal protection of the law. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siiQelPHbQ] -
Elementary Education Act (ESEA)
Congress amended this law to establish a grant program to help states in the initiation, expansion, and improvement of programs and projects for the education of handicap children. This program did not include any specific mandates on the use of the funds provided by the grants and was not showing to have any improvement in the education of the children with disabilities. [https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ767033] -
Pennsylvania Assn. for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PARC)
Pennsylvania Assn. for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PARC). PARC dealt with the exclusion of children with mental retardation from public school, and it was agreed at the end that educational placement decisions must include a process of parental participation and a means to resolve disputes. -
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
Another court case during the same time was Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia. Mills involved the practice of suspending, expelling and excluding children with disabilities from the District of Columbia public schools, and the school district defense was that the education for children with disabilities was too high. -
PARC and Mills Results.
In 1972 after PARC and Mills launched an investigation into the status of children with disabilities and found that millions of children were not receiving an appropriate education. https://disabilityjustice.org/right-to-education/ -
The Rehabilitation Act
The Rehabilitation Act is a civil rights law that stops discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Section 504 is a small section of the law that protects students with disabilities from being discriminated against across the United States. -
Education for All Handicapped Children's Act
This is a public law that makes sure that all children with disabilities have the right to receive free, appropriate public education with IEPs to meet their individual needs. It also protects the rights of the parents and makes sure that they play a role in their child's learning goals. The law also helps state and local education agencies for families with children with disabilities. -
Education for All Handicapped for Infants and Toddlers.
The EHA added another section to the law that would cover infants and toddlers below the age of 3 with disabilities providing them with An Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) to service the specific needs of the child. -
EHA became Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
This public law increased the focus on accountability and improved outcomes by emphasizing reading, early intervention, and research-based instruction by requiring that teachers hold a special education certification. The purpose of the change was to ensure that all students will have a unique education that would meet his or her specific needs and prepare them for further employment, education, and ultimately independent living. -
No Child Left Behind Act
NCLB was amended to ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, the avility to complete on challenging state academic achievement standards and assessments.
