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Watson v. City of Cambridge (1893)
Special Education has been ever-changing since the 1800s. Students with disabilities have a history of neglect. In this case, Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that a child who was “weak of mind” and could not benefit from instruction, was troublesome to other children, made “unusual noises,” and was unable to take, “ordinary, decent, physical care of himself” could be expelled from school. This case would open doors to future court proceedings. -
P.A.R.C v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971)
Brought forth in 1971 this was the first in the country to overturn the law, helping to bring equal educational opportunities of schooling for all children. P.A.R.C argued these main points: All children with mental retardation can benefit from education and training. Second, education cannot be defined as the only provision of academic experiences for children and the earlier students with mental retardation are afforded an education, the greater the amount of learning that could be predicted. -
Irving Independent School District vs Tatro 468 U.S. 883 (1984)
Amber Tatro was born and diagnosed with cerebral palsy resulting in her needing to be catheterized every few hours.She also had an IEP but the school district refused the parents request to provide this service. The court ruled that because Amber’s school was one that had received funding, the court ruled that the school had to provide the catherization service.