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Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
Supreme Court case where the justices ruled unanimously that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. This civil rights movement helped establish the precedent that “separate-but-equal” education and other services were actually not equal at all. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)
This legislation provided the resources that helped to ensure that disadvantaged students had access to quality education. President Johnson believed that an equal chance at education meant an equal chance at life. -
Diana v. State Board of Education (1970)
This case led to the court ordering that for those children whose primary language was not English were to be tested in their primary language in addition to English. This helped fix the classifications of students in special education and IQ tests were no longer biased. -
PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
This case dealt with the exclusion of children with mental retardation from public school. District court Judge ruled that the existing law which restricted children ages 6-21 was unconstitutional. Pennsylvania was now responsible for providing free public education to all children, regardless of their disabilities. -
Mills v. Board of Education
In 1971 a group of children with disabilities were being denied the right to an education. This led the parents of these students to file a lawsuit against the Board of Education of the District of Columbia. The court ruling in 1972 made clear that the deprivation suffered by these children clearly violated their right to a public school education under the laws of the District of Columbia. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973)
This act prohibited the discrimination against those with disabilities in programs which received federal funding. This act also paved the way to the Americans with Disabilities Act. -
The Education of All Handicapped Children
This Act (commonly referred to as EAHCA or EHA, or Public Law (PL) 94-142) intended that ALL children with disabilities would have a right to an education. Because of this act it was to be required that all public schools accept federal funds to provide equal access to these children with disabilities. Started requiring schools to develop an IEP. This act was an amendment to Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act in 1966 and is now currently known as IDEIA. -
Timothy W v. Rochester School District (1989)
Timothy was denied special education services because the school believed that his disability was "too severe",for him to benefit from the program. This led to a zero- rejection policy where schools could no longer deny a child special education services no matter how severe their disabilities were.
*Zero Reject- No "excludable" individuals under the EAHCA -
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
The primary purpose of this act was to ensure that students in every public school achieve important learning goals and objectives all while being educated in a classroom where they are safe and instructed by well- prepared teachers.
Began holding the government responsible for students academically. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
In December 2004, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was amended again, and the reauthorized statute was now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 and was known as IDEA 2004. It's purpose was to provide an education that met the child's unique needs as well as to prepare the child for further education. It's second purpose was to protect the rights of children with disabilities as well as their parents.
