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Rhode Island opened the first public special education class in the U.S. in 1896.
The first special class for the deaf children in a public school was held in Boston in 1869. In 1896, the first special class for children who were mentally disabled was held in Rhode Island and in 1899 a class for students with physical impairments was formed as well. -
Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Parents Enlightened
In 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court issued a landmark civil rights decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court found that African-American children had the right to equal educational opportunities. After the decision in Brown, parents of children with disabilities began bringing lawsuits against their school districts for excluding children with disabilities. The parents argued, by excluding these children, schools were discriminating against the children due to their disabilities. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)
In 1966, Congress amended the ESEA to establish a grant program to help states in the “initiation, expansion, and improvement of programs and projects . . . for the education of handicapped children.” In 1970, Congress enacted the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 91-230) in an effort to encourage states to develop educational programs for individuals with disabilities. -
1970 Pennsylvania Assn. for Retarded Children v.Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PARC)and Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
PARC dealt with the exclusion of children with mental retardation from public schools. In the subsequent settlement, it was agreed that educational placement decisions must include a process of parental participation and a means to resolve disputes. Mills involved the practice of suspending, expelling and excluding children with disabilities from the District of Columbia public schools. The school district’s primary defense in Mills was the high cost of educating children with disabilities. -
1973 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act signed into law
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was signed into law stating, “no otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States shall solely on the basis of his handicap, be excluded from the participation, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Basically stating no program receiving federal funds could discriminate against a person with a disability. -
Public Law 94-142: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
On November 19, 1975, Congress enacted Public Law 94-142 in 1975, also known as The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Congress intended that all children with disabilities would “have a right to education, and to establish a process by which State and local educational agencies may be held accountable for providing educational services for all handicapped children.” -
1990 Amendments to PL 94-142 changed name to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Changes and additions to law included: requirement of students to obtain a transition plan by the age of 16 years with activities and inter agency linkages for living arrangements, vocational training, and/or additional education. Added social work and rehabilitation counseling as related services. Added autism and traumatic brain injury as disability categories. -
1997 Amendment to “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act”
The 1997 Amendment to “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA) added ten changes to the previous law regarding discipline, participation in the general education curriculum and state assessments, transition planning, assistive technology, related services and structure of the IEP. -
NCLB 2001
The purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is “to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.”
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IDEA 2004
The IDEA 2004 re authorization emphasized the need to align IDEA with other school improvement efforts. Congress found that: the education of children with disabilities can be made more effective by, having high expectations for such children and ensuring their access to the general education curriculum in the regular classroom, meet developmental goals and challenging expectations that have been established for all children.
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