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When Exclusion was the Rule
In the 19th century, children with disabilities were considered a inconvenience to any school institution, these kind of students were kept away of the "public eyes". -
First significant court case
In 1954, the court case Brown v. Board of Education determined that all people, regardless of race, gender, or disability, have the right to a public education. Funding for special education programs and training increased after Brown unanimously won the case, however schools could still choose whether they wanted to participate in the incentive programs for the special education.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/brown-v-board-of-education-of-topeka -
The Beginning of Special Education
In the mid 1960's educators began to see positive results in teaching children with disabilities . In 1965 The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was signed into law, calling for equal access to education to all students, including federal funding for primary and secondary education students for disadvantaged by poverty. -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC)
https://youtu.be/QtFmp3XduaQ
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided in favor of students with learning disabilities.
"The two main findings in this case are the right of students with mental retardation to receive free public education and, as long as possible, include this kind of students in a regular classroom rather than an isolated special class" .
Source: https://www.cram.com/essay/Pennsylvania-Association-For-Retarded-Children-PARC-V/F35BRF7LJX5W -
Mills v Board of Education of the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia classified students as exceptional, including those with mental and learning disabilities, as well as behavioral issues. This ruling made it unlawful for students to be denied access to public educational opportunities. -
Congressional Investigation of 1972
PARC and Mills ruling, opened doors for the Congress to open an investigation to uncover how many children with special needs were not being educated. The Burau of Education for the Handicapped establish that more than 8 million children were in need of special education services, they also found that more than one million children with disabilities were not in school. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
President Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Act, which requires all states that accepted money from the federal government were required to give equal access to education for children with disabilities, they also must provide one free meal everyday. Congress also signed the "procedural safeguards" which gave parents and children protection of their rights, including parental's opinion and inclusion on the decision of the education. -
Public Law 99-457
https://uscode.house.gov/statutes/pl/99/457.pdf
The Public Law 99-457 was an amendment to the All Handicapped Children Act, insuring that children ages 3 thru 5 who are disabled are included on appropriate free public education, creating an early intervention program -
Handicapped Children's Protection Act
This is a law signed by the President Ronald Regan, giving parents and families of disabled children more say and input in their development, creating the Individual Education Plan, or IEP. -
Public Law 101-476
This amendment of the Public Law 94-142 was signed in 1990 adding children with brain injury and autism. It also mandated that as part of the student's IEP, an individual transition plan must be developed to help students transition to their post secondary life. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
https://www.naset.org/index.php?id=idea972#:~:text=The%20IDEA%20Amendments%20of%201997%20-%20After%20two,amends%20the%20Individuals%20with%20Disabilities%20Education%20Act%20(IDEA). President Bill Clinton reauthorized IDEA with several key amendments in which emphasized providing all students with access to the same curriculum, giving states 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 -
IDEA 2004
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html Congress amended IDEA by calling for early intervention for students, raising standards for instructors who teach special
education classes. IDEA covers children from birth through high school, or age 21, whatever comes first. There are 13 categories covered under IDEA.
IDEA main purpose is to provide Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for all children with disabilities. -
Fast Facts, Students with disabilities, inclusion of
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=59 In fall 2017, some 95 percent of 6- to 21-year-old students with disabilities were served in regular schools; 3 percent were served in a separate school for students with disabilities; 1 percent were placed in regular private schools by their parents; and less than 1 percent each were served in one of the following environments: in a separate residential facility, homebound or in a hospital, or in a correctional facility. -
Special Education in the COVID-19 era
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/qa-provision-of-services-idea-part-b-09-28-2020.pdf During the pandemic , The OSERS - Office Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, states that their mission is
"no matter what primary instructional delivery approach is chosen, SEAs, LEAs, and
individualized education program (IEP) Teams remain responsible for ensuring that a
free appropriate public education (FAPE) is provided to all children with disabilities"
