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On May 17, 1954, Brown vs. Board of Education declared racial segregation of children in public schools. School children from four different states argued that segregated public schools were unequal and deprived them of equal protection of the laws. The Supreme Court found that African American children had the right to equal educational opportunities and that segregated schools “have no place in the field of public education.” -
On April 11, 1965 the Secondary Education Act was passed which is where all students will receive free and reduced lunch. This helped low income families and also supported increasing the amount of teachers in low income schools. -
On September 26, 1973, the Vocational Rehabilitation Act and Section 504 was passed. This law helps prohibit discrimination against students with disabilities. This also provides a definition for the term appropriate education. -
On June 23, 1974, the Educational Amendments Act was passed which gives students and their families the right to due process in special education cases. This act also grants federal funding for gifted and talented students. -
On November 11, 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed. This act mandated that public schools have to provide free and appropriate public education to kids who have disabilities. This defines the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and included Individualized Education Programs (IEP). -
On October 8, 1986, Education of Handicapped Act Amendments was passed. This law offers free and appropriate education for students with disabilities from ages three to five. This law also offers early intervention programs for children with disabilities from birth to two years old. -
On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. This act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the work force. It also provides equal opportunity to employment, accommodations, services, transportation, etc. -
On October 30, 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was passed. This act offers a transition program at 16, bilingual education programs, and extends special education services to include social work, rehabilitation. This act also allowed due process in education and confidentiality in student info. -
On January 8, 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was passed. This law offers early intervention reading programs, school choice for students from failing schools, and opportunities for students to attend successful schools. This act increased its accountability on schools and also hired highly qualified teachers. -
On December 3, 2004, the IDEA Improvement Act was passed. This act set higher standards for special education teacher license/certification and it increased funding to early intervention services. This law also emphasized the use of Response to Intervention (RTI) in school.