SPED Timeline

By billnron

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    This was huge for special education considering it stated that it was unconstitutional for kids to be segregated by race.

  • Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided in favor of students with intellectual and learning disabilities in state-run institutions.

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

    The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia students classified as “exceptional” – including those with mental and learning disabilities and behavioral issues.

  • Congressional Investigation of 1972

    Investigation of the PARC and Mills.

  • 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.

  • Public Law 99-457

    Mandated that individual states provide services to families of children born with disabilities from the time they are born.

  • Handicapped Children’s Protection Act

    Law that gave parents of children with disabilities more say in the development of their child’s Individual Education Plan, or IEP.

  • Public Law 101-476

    Traumatic brain injury and autism were added as new disability categories. Additionally, Congress mandated that as a part of a student’s IEP, an individual transition plan, or ITP, must be developed to help the student transition to post-secondary life.

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

    Emphasized providing all students with access to the same curriculum, additionally, 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.

  • Congress amended IDEA

    Called for early intervention for students, greater accountability and improved educational outcomes, and raised the standards for instructors who teach special education classes.