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Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. -
Little Rock School Desegregation
Governor Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African American students from enrolling at Central High School. Central High was an all white school. In response to Faubus' action, a team of NAACP lawyers, including Thurgood Marshall, won a federal district court injunction to prevent the governor from blocking the student's entry. With the help of police escorts, the students successfully entered the school through a side entrance on 23 September 1957 but still faced riots -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
This law was designed to improve educational equity for students from lower income families by providing federal funds to school districts serving poor students. Since then the bill has been reauthorized 8 times once including in 2001 by The Bush Administration (No Child Left Behind Act) and once in 2015 by Obama Administration. -
Specific Learning Disabilities Act of 1969
Congress passes the Children with Specific Learning Disabilities Act, which is included in the Education of the Handicapped Act of 1970. This is the first time federal law mandates support services for students with learning disabilities. Children with special (specific) learning disabilities exhibit a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken and written language. -
Title IX, Education Amendments of 1972
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance -
The Education of All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142)
This law guaranteed a free appropriate public education to each child with a disability. This law had a dramatic, positive impact on millions of children with disabilities in every state and each local community across the country. -
The Refugee Act of 1980
The Refugee Act of 1980 created The Federal Refugee Resettlement Program to provide for the effective resettlement of refugees and to assist them to achieve economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible after arrival in the United States. This act reforms immigration law to admit refugees for humanitarian reasons and results in the resettlement of more than three-million refugees in the United States including many children who bring special needs and issues to their classrooms. -
Emergency Immigrant Education Program
Purpose is to assist State education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) in providing supplementary educational services and offsetting costs for immigrant children enrolled in elementary and secondary public and nonpublic schools. The eligible recipients are the States, which then distribute the funds to LEAs within the State according to the number of immigrant children. -
Teach for America is Formed
Teach for America is formed which stills plays a big roll in today's educational system. Their mission statement: "We’re committed to expanding opportunity for children by affecting profound systemic change. We find, develop, and support a diverse network of leaders from classrooms, schools, and every sector and field in order to shape the broader system in which schools operate." -
The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994
This act reauthorizes the ESEA of 1965 and includes reforms for Title I; increased funding for bilingual and immigrant education; and provisions for public charter schools, drop-out prevention, and educational technology.
