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Plessy v. Ferguson
The court upheld the state law but allowed Plessy to appeal to the Supreme Court. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson, with Justice Henry Brown stating that the enforced separation of races does not infer inferiority unless the colored race chooses to view it that way. Plessy v. Ferguson -
Public School for Special Education
In 1896, Rhode Island established the first public special education class in the United States. This was a significant step in acknowledging the need for individualized educational approaches for students with disabilities. By 1923, the number of students enrolled in special education classes had increased to nearly 34,000. -
Research on Exceptional Students
In the summer of 1952, the first institution for research on Exceptional Children opened at the University of Illinois and began what was to become the newest focus of the field of special education: the slow learner and, eventually, what we know today as learning disability. -
Brown vs Board of Education
In the wake of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which is considered to have ushered an era of equal education opportunities, albeit imperfectly so, by forbidding discrimination based on race in public schools, two federal class action suits provided the impetus for the development of the law of special education -
“Special education for the mildly retarded"
“Special education for the mildly retarded: Is much of it justifiable?" the article written by Dunn that
triggered a social and cultural reform question of the disproportionate numbers or lack of specific races and economically disadvantaged groups within the special education numbers -
First Special Olympics
The First Special Olympics took place
place in Chicago. The mission of Special Olympics is to offer year-round sports training and competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities. It aims to promote physical fitness, courage, joy, and friendship among athletes, their families, and the community. Special Olympics -
PARC vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
In 1971, this support was reinforced and extended to the state level when the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) filed a class-action lawsuit against the Commonwealth. This suit, resolved, specified that all children age six through twenty-one were to be provided free public education in the least restrictive alternative.
PARC vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania -
The Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA)
The Education of the Handicapped Act (EHA), Public Law 94-142, was enacted on November 29, 1975. This significant legislation required public schools to ensure equal education access for children with disabilities by providing a "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) and mandating personalized education plans (IEPs) for each student to meet their specific needs. -
Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley
The case of Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified the level of services to be afforded students with special needs and ruled that special education services need only provide some "educational benefit" to students–public schools were not required to maximize the educational progress of students with disabilities. -
IDEA Reauthorization Update
The 2004 update to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was a significant revision and reauthorization of the original law. It preserved the core principles of IDEA, such as providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and ensuring parental involvement. At the same time, it introduced new provisions and changes aimed at improving accountability, enhancing parental participation, and streamlining the special education process.