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Plessy vs. Ferguson
Plessy vs. Ferguson legitimated the doctrine of "separate but equal," although the segregated education that this Jim Crow era law provided was anything but equal. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court ruling stating that segregation based on race in public schools is illegal -
Segregation challenged in schools
De facto segregation challenged in the Washington,DC public school system in the case of Hobson v. Hansen (1967). -
Dunn's critique of special education (civil rights concerns)
Dunn's classic critique of special education suggested that the "overrepresentation of ethnic and language minority students in special education classes represented a civil rights and education concern" (Skiba et. al., 265). -
Mills v. Board of Education
litigation stemming from concerns about racial inequity -
Mercer finds overrepresentation of language/ethnic minorities in "mentally retarded" diagnosis
Mercer (1973) found that "public schools tended to identify more children as mentally retarded than any other child service setting" (Skiba et. al., 265). -
Individuals With Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) passed
Individuals With Disabilities in Education Act, IDEA, Public Law No. 94142, 1975 -
Period: to
US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights estimates disproportionality in education and special ed
Starting in the 1980s, examination of the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights survey data began to produce estimates of the extent and distribution of disproportionality, which have been consistent over time. Three of these surveys are those taken by Chinn and Hughes in 1987, Donovan and Cross in 2002, and Finn in 1982.