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Watson v. City of Cambridge
The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that children with disabilities that result in the child not benefiting from instruction, distracting other children in class, or needing assistance with self-care can be expelled from school. -
First White House Conference on Children
Following the conference, focus was shifted from institutionalizing students with disabilities to educating them in public schools. This marked the creation of segregated classes in public schools. -
New Jersey Adopts Special Education Laws
New Jersey was the first state to adopt laws requiring schools to educate students with disabilities in public school. Other states, including New York and Massachusetts, followed their example, but these laws were poorly enforced. -
Compulsory Attendance
Compulsory attendance laws were in effect in all states by 1918. However, students with disabilities were still excluded from many public schools. -
Coucil for Exceptional Children
The Council for Exceptional Creation is an advocacy group that has made development of educational programming, teacher education, and policy making and advocating for students with disabilities. -
Cuyahoga County Ohio Council for the Retarded Children
The Cuyahoga County Ohio Council for the Retatded Children was the first parent advocate group. The group started when five mothers of children with intellectual disabilities joined to protest their children being excluded from school. Following the creation of this group, similar ones were created throughout the U.S. -
Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals & Compulsory Attendance
The Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals in Ohio ruled that the compulsory attendance laws allowed the State Department of Education to exclude students. This ruling highlights the issue with compulsory attendance and the exclusion of students with disabilities. The court acknowledged the contradiction, but did not resolve it. -
The National Association for Retarded Citizens
The National Association for Retarded Citizens, formed in 1950, is an advocacy group that provides information to people and works to ensure high quality services to individuals with intellectual disabilities. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Court found that segregation in schools was a violation of the rights of minority students under the 14th Amendment, and that the education given in separate schools was not equal. Brown v. Board of Education empowered many advocates for students with disabilities, because these students were being completely excluded from education. After Brown v. Board of Education, many similar cases were brought to court, but the focus shifted from minorities to students with disabilities. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act marked the first time the federal government provided monetary assistance to the states for educating specific groups of students, and acted as an antecedent for direct aid for students with disabilities. An amendment, Title VI, was later added to the ESEA to add funding for grants to develop beneficial programs for students with disabilities. -
The Education of the Handicapped Act of 1970
Title VI of the ESEA was eventually replaced by the Education of the Handicapped Act. The EHA served to organize and expand on the previous grant programs and to continue funding, and it became the foundation for much of the future legislation. The EHA required states to create, and continue to develop currently existing, programs and projects for students with disabilities. Colleges were provided funding to develop training programs for special education teachers. -
Mills v. Board of Education
The Mills v. Board of Education case revolved around students with a variety of disabilities who were not provided with their public education. This was found to be a violation of the 14th Amendment. The case resulted in procedural safeguards being provided to parents, which include the rights that the parents have as a parent of a child with a disability. The procedural safeguards led to the creation of the due process part of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, asserting that the state was not meeting its constitutional obligations to students with intellectual disabilities. Following the court case, the educational rights for students with disabilities continued to develop. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act asserted that any person who is deemed “handicapped” cannot be discriminated against by any federally funded agency. The agencies are required to comply with the directions of Section 504, correct any violations that occur, and to make modifications and accommodations to provide similar services to those that people without disabilities receive. -
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was developed to use increased government assistance to address students with disabilities being excluded from school or not receiving appropriate education. The act improved testing and evaluation procedures, procedural due process, and assured the students education in the least restrictive environment, a free and appropriate public education (including an IEP developed by the IEP team including the parents). -
The Education of the Handicapped Amendments
The Education of the Handicapped Amendments requires states to offer early intervention services to infants and toddlers. Early intervention services are offered to children up to age 3 who are experiencing developmental delays, or have been diagnosed with a physical or mental condition that affects their development. Many related services are offered in early intervention. The EHA requires an Individual Family Service Plan to be developed and reviewed every 6 months and revised each year. -
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Act marked improvements in the language used to refer to people with disabilities, substituting the term disability for the term “handicap” and introducing person first language. IDEA added the categories of autism and traumatic brain injury and added and developed types of related services, assistive technology, and rehabilitation services. Transition planning was now required to be included in IEPs of students who were 16 or older.