Special Education History

  • Margaret Douglas

    Margaret Douglas
    Margaret Douglas sentenced to one month in jail for teaching children of freed slaves how to read and write (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008).
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    African American Education Post-Reconstruction

    For nearly 100 years, it was believed that African Americans were inferior and should be educated for lower ranking jobs (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008).
  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Plessy v. Ferguson
    Plessy v. Ferguson supports racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as they are "separate but equal" (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008).
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    Brown v. Board of Education overturns the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling and bans racial segregation in public schools.
  • Hobson v. Hansen

    Hobson v. Hansen
    Schools try to encourage de facto segregation by targeting poor, black neighborhoods with low standardized test scores. The court rules that test scores cannot be used to group students into "tracks" for special education placement (UCLA School Mental Health Project).
  • Lloyd Dunn

    Lloyd Dunn
    Lloyd Dunn critiques the overrepresentation of minority students in special education programs (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008).
  • Diana v. California State Board of Education

    Diana v. California State Board of Education
    Diana, a Spanish-speaking student from California,was placed in a special education program after she received a low score on an IQ test given in English. This court case ruled that English Language Learners (ELLs) need to be retested in their native languages before being placed in a special education program (UCLA School Mental Health Project).
  • Larry P. v. Riles

    Larry P. v. Riles
    Larry P., a black student in California, argues that IQ tests discriminate on the basis of race. The court rules that IQ tests are discriminatory and should not be used for special education placement (UCLA School Mental Health Project).
  • Jane Mercer

    Jane Mercer
    Jane Mercer finds that "public schools (tend) to identify more children as mentally retarded than any other child service setting" (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008).
  • Rehabilitation Act

    Rehabilitation Act
    The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in Federal programs. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ensures that children with disabilities equal access to education through reasonable accommodations and modifications (Wright's Law, 2019).
  • U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights

    U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights
    Survey data produces estimates of the extent and distribution of disproportionality of special education program enrollment based on race. However, this research did not provide any understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in special education (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008).
  • Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act

    Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act
    This law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in schools, workplaces, and other public places. The ADA makes sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else (Wright's Law, 2019).
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997

    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997
    IDEA 1997 requires every state to have policies and procedures in effect to ensure a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all students with disabilities (Wright's Law, 2009).
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004

    Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 2004
    This new act requires states to monitor disproportionate representation by race or ethnicity in disability categories and special education placements. It also orders the review of local policies, practices, and procedures when disproportionate representation is found (Skiba, Simmons, Ritter, Gibb, Rausch, Cuadrado, & Chung, 2008).