Shaping the Field of Special Education in the U.S.

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    A father from Kansas was concerned with the fact that his daughter was having to travel significantly farther to attend a black school. Once this case made it to court, there was a unanimous decision that if a state offers education, it must be offered equally to all.
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

    Because poverty in children and their education started to become a noticeable issue, this act established Title One schools which provided education for kids living under the poverty line.
  • Rehabilitation Act

    This act stated that any program/school receiving federal funding cannot discriminate against students with disabilities. Section 504 came from this act.
  • Public Law 94-142 (Education for All Handicapped Children Act)

    This act signifies several big changes in the Special Education field. Schools were to actually educate, identify, and evaluate students with disabilities, and not just educate them but educate them in their least restrictive environment.
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

    After the 'captial crawl', this act was passed which stated that everyone would be able to access public buildings affectively.
  • No Child Left Behind Act

    This act made sure that, as a nation, we were effectively educating all students. This included the fact that teachers were required to be certified in what they taught, and although this was a good concept it led to too much testing.
  • Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

    Following the No Child Left Behind Act, this act still included too much testing. However, there was a change in that teachers had the right to decide when the students were to take the tests.
  • Endrew v. Douglas County School District

    When a student with autism was doing poorly in a public school, his parents transferred him to a private school where his performance in class improved significantly. The parents sued the public school, won the supreme court case, and as a result sparked a change in public schools from this point forward to better educate students with disabilities.