Special Education Law Timeline

By UnoCB
  • Brown v. Board of Education

    Brown v. Board of Education

    The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling laid the foundation for the 1975 federal law requiring access to a free appropriate public education for all children with disabilities.
  • Mills v. Board of Education

    Mills v. Board of Education

    The court applied the same reasoning in Mills since the interest in educating all children surpasses the need to save government funds. Siding with the disabled students, Judge Waddy wrote the court decision on 1 August, 1972.
  • Vocational Rehabilitation Act

    Vocational Rehabilitation Act

    Your rights under section 504 - Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability.
  • FERPA

    FERPA

    The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records
  • Public Law 94-142

    Public Law 94-142

    President Gerald Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. The EHA guaranteed a free, appropriate public education to each child with a disability in every state and locality across the country.
  • Idea Act

    Idea Act

    Schools must find and evaluate students thought to have disabilities — at no cost to families. To qualify for IDEA services, a child must have a disability and need special education to make progress in school.
  • American with Disabilities Act

    American with Disabilities Act

    The ADA is a civil rights law that 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.
  • IDEA Reauthorization

    IDEA Reauthorization

    The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.
  • No Child Left Behind

    No Child Left Behind

    The law held schools accountable for how kids learned and achieved. The law was controversial in part because it penalized schools that didn't show improvement.
  • IDEA 2004

    IDEA 2004

    IDEA gives states federal funds to help make special education services available for students with disabilities. It also provides very specific requirements to ensure a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities.