History of Special Education

By Jcranny77

  • Smith-Hughes Act

    As one of the first federal grant-in-aid programs, the Smith-Hughes Act provided federal aid on a matching basis to states and established requirements regarding how the money was to be used. It created the Federal Board of Vocational Education to oversee the distribution of funds and approve state plans. Provides federal funding for vocational education, including provisions for students with disabilities.

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    In this milestone decision, the Supreme Court ruled that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. It signaled the end of legalized racial segregation in the schools of the United States, overruling the "separate but equal" principle set forth in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case.

    https://youtu.be/jRYK4RWyUAo?si=AFyCMdbSvlkGAweG

  • President Kennedy establishes the President's Panel on Mental Retardation

    Highlighting the need for improved services for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The President's Panel on Mental Retardation was appointed by President Kennedy on October 17, 1961, with the mandate to prepare a "National Plan to Combat Mental Retardation." On October 16, 1962, the Panel presented in its report to the President* recommendations concerning research and manpower, treatment and care.

  • Passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

    The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who believed that "full educational opportunity" should be "our first national goal." From its inception, ESEA was a civil rights law. Includes provisions for funding special education services for children with disabilities.

  • Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia

    Rules that students with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). In Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia (1972), hereafter Mills, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that students with disabilities are entitled to an education, and that education cannot be denied based on the accommodations' additional cost to the school.

  • Rehabilitation Act of 1973

    The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended (Rehab Act) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal financial assistance, in federal employment and in the employment practices of federal contractors. Including Section 504, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in programs receiving federal funding.

  • Passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)

    Later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), mandating free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities. Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142), also known as the EHA, in 1975 to support states and localities in protecting the rights of, meeting the individual needs of, and improving the results for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities and their families.

  • Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC) v. Pennsylvania

    Establishes the right of children with disabilities to a public education. https://pubintlaw.org/cases-and-projects/pennsylvania-association-for-retarded-citizens-parc-v-commonwealth-of-pennsylvania/

  • Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley

    Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, 458 U.S. 176, is a United States Supreme Court case concerning the interpretation of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Amy Rowley was a deaf student, whose school refused to provide a sign language interpreter. Sets the standard for FAPE as providing "meaningful access" to education.

  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

    Passed, prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including education. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, and access to state and local government programs and services.

  • No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)

    Unlike previous versions of ESEA, NCLB held schools accountable for how kids learn and achieve. It did this through annual testing, reporting, improvement targets, and penalties for schools. These changes made NCLB controversial, but they also forced schools to focus on disadvantaged kids. NCLB is no longer the law.

  • Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA)

    Strengthens accountability measures and provides for greater parental involvement in the special education process.