Special Education Law Timeline

  • Brown vs. Board of Education

    Brown vs. Board of Education

    -The Brown decision led the way to a growing understanding that all people, regardless of race, gender, or disability, have a right to public education.
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    This law brought education to the forefront of the national assault on poverty and represented a landmark commitment to equal access to quality education (Jeffrey, 1978). ESEA is an extensive statute that funds primary and secondary education. This act was amended the following year (1966) to provide federal funding to expand programs for children with disabilities.
  • Education of the Handicapped Act

    Education of the Handicapped Act

    This was the first freestanding special education law, it mandated students with disabilities be educated, and it required that students with disabilities should receive the special education and related services they needed to progress.
  • PARC v. Commonwealth of PA

    PARC v. Commonwealth of PA

    Children with intellectual disabilities did not have the right to public education. Pennsylvania state law allowed public schools to deny services to children “who have not attained a mental age of five years” by the start of first grade. This event started to give children with disabilities the right to public education.
  • Mills v. Board of Education

    Mills v. Board of Education

    -Students with disabilities must be given a public education even if the students are unable to pay for the cost of the education.
    -No child could be denied a public education because of “mental, behavioral, physical or emotional handicaps or deficiencies.
  • Rehabilitation Act, Section 504

    Rehabilitation Act, Section 504

    -This act was designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the department.
  • Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)

    Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)

    -This law requires public schools to provide quality educational services for all children with disabilities between ages 3 and 21.
    -The act also includes an early intervention program to include infants and toddlers (birth to three program), authorized grants, clarified parental rights, and allowed interagency agreements to allow for transitioning students.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1990

    Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1990

    -This law makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities and ensures special education and provides early intervention to those children.
  • Americans with Disabilities Act

    Americans with Disabilities Act

    -The ADA prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
    -The purpose of this act is to make sure people with disabilities are seen equally and therefore have the same rights and opportunities.
  • No Child Left Behind Act

    No Child Left Behind Act

    -States are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in high school.
    -The main purpose of this act is to close student achievement gaps by providing all children with a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.
  • The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

    The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

    -The purpose of this act is to make sure every child gets quality education provided by public schools.
    -Under ESSA, states get to decide the education plans for their
    schools within a framework provided by the federal government
    -The law also offers parents a chance to weigh in on these plans.