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In the 1950s and 1960s, the federal government began to take an active role in establishing practices for supporting children with disabilities. This act expanded some of the initial training programs, which were very specific, to include training for a wide variety of disabilities.
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This act, signed by President Johnson, attempted to execute his vision of equal access to education for all. The specific benefit in regards to special education was that it providing funding to states for creating and improving special education programs. This act also created a federal role of directing funding towards policy goals in education, laying the foundation for future legislation.
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Section 504 protects individuals from discrimination based on their disability. This is a foundational piece of legislation, because educators can use it to provide resources for students who may require special assistance but do not qualify for services under the IDEA. -
This act, also known as Public Law 94-142, guaranteed a free and appropriate public education to all students in all states with a disability. The purposes of this act were to ensure that students' and their families' rights were protected, access to the best possible public education was granted, and effectiveness of efforts was measured. The following school year, over 3 million children were helped under the EHA.
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This 1986 reauthorization of the EHA extended services for children with disabilities to include young children. This is called early intervention, and it is put in place so that families can receive support and services from the child's birth.
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In this 1990 reauthorization of EHA, the act's name was changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Act, or IDEA. IDEA expanded EHA to include new disability categories. It also mandated that a student's IEP (individualized education program) should include a plan for transitioning to post-secondary life after high school. -
This 1997 reauthorization of IDEA was also very important to special education. It included emphasis on access to the general curriculum, as well as laying out the process for mediation. Mediation provides a way for parents to resolve disputes with schools and local educational agencies, and this process is still used today. -
The 2004 reauthorization of IDEA aligned it with the No Child Left Behind Act. The main goals of the 2004 legislation was to increase accountability and educational outcomes, raise standards for special education teachers and provide early intervention for children who did not qualify for special education but required support to thrive in a general education classroom. -
The new regulations under the IDEA in 2006 required schools' interventions to be research-based. It also outlined a resolution process requirement for due process complaints. -
The revisions to IDEA in 2016 were centered around equity and a concern that students being identified as having a disability weren't being offered their right to the least restrictive environment (LRE) possible, resulting in them not being challenged to meet rigorous academic standards. These revisions attempted to reduce the rates of students with disabilities being disproportionally removed from their placements, specifically for discipline reasons, by establishing specific procedures.