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Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the civil rights case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)
The law was established by president Lyndon B. Johnson who made a commitment on behalf of the federal government to help facilitate quality schooling to all students equally. In 1966 an amendment was made to the law to expand the program to include students with disabilities. This initiative was changed to No Child Left Behind many years later. -
PARC v. Commonwealth of PA (1972)
The Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) sued the state of Pennsylvania for law that allowed public schools to the right to deny education to children who did not exhibit signs of having a mental age of 5. The law was deemed unconstitutional and the state was now required to provide free public education to all children between the ages of six and twenty-one years. -
Mills v. Board of Education (1972)
Some children in the state of British Colombia were being denied their right to education due to perceived behavioural issues. The state had also failed to provide hearings and reviews of these exceptional children. The Supreme Court of the US ruled in favour of students and it stated that the board had an obligation to provide education for all students, regardless of disability. -
Congressional Investigation (1972)
Following the ruling in the PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it was established that 8 million students in the United States were needing special education services. Of this total amount, 3.9 million were having their needs met, whilst 2.5 million were receiving a substandard education and 1.75 million weren’t in school. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973)
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in any programs that receive federal financial assistance, and it laid the foundations for the establishment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975)
Education for All Handicapped Children Act guaranteed a free appropriate public education to each child with a disability. Federal government money was given to encourage states to develop educational programs for individuals with disabilities. -
Public Law 99-457 (1976)
PL 99-457 came about as a result of amendments by the United States Congress to the Education of the Handicapped Act. The law ensured preschool children who had disabilities aged from 3-5 were added to the already existing act. -
Armstrong v. Kline (1979)
Parents were noticing that their children were showing signs of regression during the summer months when school was generally not in session. The brought forward a case that their children were being denied their right to a free appropriate public education. The court system ruled in favor of the parents and children, and now Extended School Year (ESY) programs are in place throughout the country. -
Hendrick Hudson School v. Rowley (1982)
Amy Rowley was a deaf student whose school refused to offer her the services of a sign language interpreter. The parents of Amy sued the school, but the court system ruled against them due to Amy succeeding just fine without a sign language interpreter. This case brought about a new meaning of Free and Public Education (FAPE) and it highlighted that students only have to receive bare minimum support. -
Handicapped Children’s Protection Act (HCPA) (1986)
President Reagan signed the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act, a law that gave parents of children with disabilities more say in the development of their child’s Individual Education Plan, or IEP. -
Timothy W v. Rochester School District (1989)
Timothy W. was born severely disabled due to birthing complications. When he came to school going age, the Rochester School District denied him the access to education as they believed he was too severely disabled to benefit from any of their resources. After many court cases it was decided that that Timothy would get an education and in the future no child, regardless of the severity of his or her handicap, is to ever again be denied the right to schooling. -
Individuala with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (1990)
Changes to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now Individuala with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), allowed for traumatic brain injury and autism to be added as new disability categories. Congress also made it mandatory that Individualised Education Programs and transition plans have to help in the transition to life after high school. -
The IDEA Amendments of 1997
Amendments to IDEA put an emphasis on assessments, IEP's (placing students in the general education environment as much as possible), enhancing parent participation in placement, mediation to resolve conflicts with parent-school differences, disciplinary procedures for students with disabilities, allowing for students aged 3-9 to be identified as developmental delayed, and finally to include students with disabilities in state wide and district assessments with proper accommodations. -
No Child Left Behind Act of 2002
The law was a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Under the new act, states were required to test students in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in high school. All students were expected to at least meet state standards in reading and math by the year 2014. The goal of the act was to close achievement gaps by providing all children with a fair and equal education. -
IDEA Improvement Act of 2004
This act mandated equality, accountability, and excellence for students with disabilities. It provided grants to states to grow their special education programs and research by allowing for more highly qualified teachers. The act also allowed for changes in Individualised Education Program short term goals. -
Endrew F v. Douglas County School District (2017)
The parents of Andrew F. wanted more for their child then the minimum in terms of resources. Douglas County School District were under the impression they were providing all required services as the student was meeting, or exceeding their peers in the academics. The court ruled in favor of the parents and now ff the circumstances call for it, the program of the student should be created in such a way that they are allowed to exceed their peers and progress as far as they can
