Special Education Law Timeline by Courtney Nichols

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education
    In 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court issued a landmark civil rights decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The supreme court ordered defendants in the case to desegregate by race with all due deliberate speed. This case inspired educational reform all over the country. Brown v. Board laid the foundation for the IDEA of 1975
  • Teachers of Deaf Act

    Teachers of Deaf Act
    This act established a 2-year program to assist in training educational teachers for the deaf or hard of hearing.
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

    Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
    President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the act into law in 1965. This act was the first Federal grant program targeting students with disabilities. It included the expansion and improvements to educational programs for children with disabilities. The act also created the Bureau of Education for handicapped.
  • Diana v. State Board of Education

    Diana v. State Board of Education
    The court ruled that non-English proficient children cannot be placed in Special Education on the basis of culturally biased tests or tests administered in English. California was ordered to develop and standardize appropriate intelligence test, and the state was also ordered to look at inequities in special education placement based on race and ethnicity. Developing plans for resolving these inequities, testing students in their native language to avoid errors in the placement.
  • The Rehabilitation Act

    The Rehabilitation Act
    (Section 504) Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities conducted by HUD or that receive financial assistance from HUD.
  • Education For All Handicapped Children Act

    Education For All Handicapped Children Act
    This law required all states that accepted money from the federal government were required to provide equal access to education for children with disabilities, in addition to providing them with one free meal per day. States had the responsibility to ensure compliance under the law within all of their public school systems.
  • Handicapped Childrens Protection Act

    Handicapped Childrens Protection Act
    President Reagan signed the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act, a law that gave parents of children with disabilities more say in the development of their child’s Individual Education Plan, or IEP.
  • Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
    The Education for all Handicapped Children's Act became the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. The act ensures that all children with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment and independent living. States were given the authority to expand the “developmental delay” definition from birth through five years of age to also include students between the ages of six and nine.
  • The American With Disabilities Act

    The American With Disabilities Act
    Signed by George W. Bush. The ADA provided comprehensive civil rights protection for people with disabilities. It also mandated access in public transportation, communication, and in other areas of public life.
  • No Child Left Behind Act

    No Child Left Behind Act
    This is a reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act which requires that special education teachers be highly
    qualified.The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades. If those states are to receive federal funding for schools. The law does not assert a national achievement standard, they are set by individual state.
  • Assistive Technology Act (amendments)

    Assistive Technology Act (amendments)
    The 2004 amendments to the Assistive Technology Act of 1998. The Act seeks to provide AT (assistive technology) to persons with disabilities, so they can more fully participate in education, employment, and daily activities on a level playing field with other members of their communities. The Act covers people with disabilities of all ages, all disabilities, in all environments.