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Providing educational rights to individuals regardless of color, Brown vs. Board of Education prompted many lawsuits aimed at the rights of individuals with disabilities to be educated with their non-disabled counterparts.
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Congress enacted ESEA in 1965 to address the inequalities present in the educational system for underprivileged students.
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ESEA was amended in 1966 to establish a grant program for the education of all handicapped children.
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This court case mandated individuals with learning and intellectual disabilities be educated in publicly funded schools that met their individual needs, and that parents should be part of the decision about what resources were needed.
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Mills vs BOE of DC classified as "exceptional" individuals with mental, learning, and behavioral issues, and made it illegal to deny these children access to a publicly funded education.
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In 1972, Congress set out to discover how many children with special needs were not being adequately served. The Bureau of Education for the Handicapped determined there were 8 million children requiring special services, of which 3.9 million were receiving appropriate services, 2.5 million were getting insufficient services, and 1.75 million were not currently in school.
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Section 504 was the first law aimed at protecting civil rights of individuals with disabilities. It prohibits discrimination in programs received federal funding, and provides protection and accommodations for children with disabilities.
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Signed by President Ford, this law mandated that states who received federal money provide educational access to all children, including those with disabilities.
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This act ensured that families of children with disabilities would have services from birth. Previously, services did not begin until age 3.
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Signed by President Reagan, this Act gave parents of children with disabilities more rights and say in the development of their child's IEP.
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ADA changed current law by adding traumatic brain injury and autism as disability categories. It also added a mandate that IEPs include a plan for students to transition to life after high school.
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IDEA took the place of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and ensured a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to all students with disabilities.
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Provides appropriate federally-funded assistive technology devices to individuals with disabilities.
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Takes the place of ESSA. Mandates math and reading testing in grades 3-8 and once in high school to identify and close achievement gaps. Four pillars of the bill are: accountability, flexibility, research-based education, and parent options.
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IDEA was reauthorized in 2004, with adjustments to wording and a few key principles. Included is an allowance that students not identified as disabled would be able to get academic and/or behavioral assistance before major problems arise.
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The ADA was amended in 2008 in response to court cases that argued the rights of disabled individuals. The amendment stipulated that courts determine whether an entity has discriminated, rather than looking at whether an individual has an impairment under the definition of a "disability". The act focuses on making schools accessible to students with disabilities.
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President Obama reauthorized ESEA to uphold protections for disadvantaged and high-needs students, requires that ALL students be educated to the high standards leading to success in college and careers, increases access to high-quality preschool, and maintains high standards of accountability and action in lowest-performing schools.
