Special Education Law

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Landmark Civil Right's case that ended segregation in public schools.
  • The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

    Provided resources to help ensure that disadvantaged students had access to quality education.
  • ESEA is amended by Congress

    Established a grant program to help states in the “initiation, expansion, and improvement of programs and projects . . . for the education of handicapped children.” Helped to strengthen ESEA and extended support to a more diverse group of students.
  • Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 91-230)

    Created grant programs to encourage states to develop educational programs for individuals with disabilities.
  • PARK v. Penn

    Required the state to provide free and appropriate public education for all children with intellectual disabilities, influencing the federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act.
  • The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-142)

    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.”
  • All Handicapped Children Act amended (P.L. 99-457)

    Required that individual states provide support to children born with disabilities starting at birth. These services had previously only been offered once the child reached the age of 3.
  • Handicapped Children’s Protection Act

    This law gave parents of children with disabilities more control of their child's individual education plan.
  • Education for All Handicapped Children Act amended (P.L. 101-476)

    Traumatic brain injury and Autism were added as new disability categories, and individual transition plans to prepare students for post-secondary life were required.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

    The Education for All Handicapped Children Act is renamed. The definition of "developmental delay" was expanded from birth to the age of 5 to also include ages 6 to 9.
  • IDEA is amended

    Early intervention programs are required to help provide greater academic and behavioral supports. Students with disabilities would be required to be included in state and district wide assessments to increase academic accountability.