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Willow Brook State School
By 1965, Willowbrook housed over 6,000 mentally disabled children, despite having a maximum capacity of 4,000. Senator Robert Kennedy toured the institution in 1965 and proclaimed that individuals in the overcrowded facility were "living in filth and dirt, their clothing in rags, in rooms less comfortable and cheerful than the cages in which we put animals in a zoo" and offered a series of recommendations for improving conditions. -
Brown vs Board of Education
Due to the outcome of this U.S. Sepreme Court case, segregation on the basis of race violated equal educational opportunity. This case led the way to a growing understanding that all people, regardless of race, gender, or disability, have a right to public education -
JOHN F. KENNEDY'S "NATIONAL PLAN TO COMBAT MENTAL RETARDATION"
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy gathered a distinguished panel of experts to develop "A National Plan to Combat Mental Retardation." Kennedy made a speech to the Congress of the United States in 1963, where he announced the findings and asked for support for new resources to address the needs of people with mental retardation and mental illness: the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Act, which granted $265 million in federal aid over five years to support programs for -
MENTAL RETARDATION FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION ACT OF 1963
This act authorized federal support for the construction of mental retardation research centers, university-affiliated training facilities, and community service facilities for children and adults with mental retardation. This act was passed as part of John F. Kennedy's "New Frontier." -
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT
President Lyndon B. Johnson creates the Elementary and Secondary Education Bill that will later become law. -
THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
This law, signed by Lyndon B. Johnson, was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools. It was the beginning of equal rights for all in education. -
THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 (ESEA)
This law provided a comprehensive plan for readdressing the inequality of educational opportunity for economically underprivileged children. It became the basis upon which early special education legislation was drafted. -
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1968
This set of amendments modified existing programs, authorized support of regional centers for education of handicapped children, model centers and services for deaf and blind children, recruitment of personnel and dissemination of information on education of the handicapped; technical assistance in education to rural areas; support of dropout prevention projects; and support of bilingual education programs. This set of amendments also changed the ESEA of 1967 Title VI to Title VII. -
THE DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SERVICES AND FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS OF 1970
The amendments to the Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction law already in place included broad responsibilities for a state planning and advisory council to plan and implement a comprehensive program of services for persons with developmental disabilities. In addition, the legislation authorized grants to support interdisciplinary training in institutions of higher education of personnel providing services to persons with developmental disabilities (currently known as -
MILLS V. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF EDUCATION
This case against the District of Columbia declared that students with disabilities must be given a public education, and that financial limits were not an important point in providing education to these students. -
THE FAMILY EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS ACT OF 1973
Parents are allowed to have access to all personally identifiable information collected, maintained, or used by a school district regarding their child. -
THE EDUCATION FOR ALL HANDICAPPED CHILDREN ACT
This act, created by President Gerald Ford, was designed to mandate a free appropriate public education for all children with disabilities in a state, regardless of the nature or severity of the child's disability (Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act). This act is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). All students with disabilities must have an individual education plan (IEP), a free and appropriate public edeucation, and be served in the least restrictive -
HOWARD S. V. FRIENDSWOOD INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
The first lawsuit under Section 504 produced the second federal court decision in the country. -
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HENDRICK HUDSON CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT V. ROWLEY
This is the first special education case to land in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court rulted that the students who qualify for special education services must have access to public school programs that meet their needs, and that the programs must be supported by services that enable students to benefit from instruction. This ruling gave lower courts standards to follow when deciding what adds up to free and appropriate public education. -
DANIEL R.R. V. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
This court case included a student with Down's Syndrom that was denied by the school system placement in the regular education classroom because of his disability. -
THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
The ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. In this law, disability is defined as, "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." Rules and regulations for students with disabilities start to become more commonplace in school districts. -
THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1997
The reauthorization of IDEA was viewed as an opportunity to review, strengthen, and improve IDEA to better educate children with disabilities and enable them to achieve a quality education. Congress sought to achieve this by: strengthening the role of parents; ensuring access to the general curriculum and reforms; focusing on teaching and learning while reducing unnecessary paper work requirements; assisting educat -
NCLB 2002
One of the main components of the modern day educational system, this act was signed into law in 2002. The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades, if those states are to receive federal funding for schools. The Act does not assert a national achievement standard; standards are set by each individual state. All students, including students with disabilities, are to be proficient in math and reading by the year 2014. -
IDEA 2004 REINACTMENT/IMPROVEMENT ACT
This reinactment of the IDEA defined the purpose of special education. It clarifies Congress’ intended outcome for each child with a disability: students must be provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that prepares them for further education, employment, and independent living. Special education and related services should be designed to meet the unique learning needs of eligible children with disabilities, preschool through age 21. The biggest changes call for more accountability a -
COURT AFFIRMS REIMBURSEMENT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION
The Supreme Court ruled that parents of special-education students may seek government reimbursement for private school tuition, even if they have never received special-education services in public school. -
MORE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS
With the growing technology of the 21st century, special education students are not being left out. More and more technology is being used for students to communicate effectively in the classroom.