Special education law timeline

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    The American highest court declared in the Brown Vs. Board case that it was against the American law and constitution for any American school to racially segregate learners based on their race. Attorney General John Ashcroft, in the ruling, said: "In these days, it is doubtable that any child may be reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education" (Justice.gov). The ruling, in this case, had single-handedly initiated a country-wide educational reform.
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    President Johnson ascended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into law as an integral part of his administration's war on poverty in America (Franklin, 2018). The ESEA was critical in directing more funds to the elementary and secondary schools in the nation and called form equitable access for all students.
  • PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    Pennsylvania Association for the Retarded Children (PARC) won the landmark case against the Pennsylvania Commonwealth. The court ruling sided with students with mental and cognitive, and learning impairments, specifically for learners in public institutions. The court ruled that these students had the right to learn in special schools to meet their unique learning needs and challenges.
  • Mills v. Board of Education

    Mills Vs. Board of Education of the Columbia District. The court defined a special group of students as "exceptional" learners with learning impairments (Russo, 2019). Consequentially, the court ruled that these students had the right to access equal learning activities like other students.
  • The Congressional Investigation of 1972

    The U.S. Congress was forced into action after the landmark rulings of Mill vs. Board and PRAC. Congress established a task force to capture all the children with special needs in the country. The task force confirmed that more than two million handicapped students in the country did not have access to education.
  • Education for all Handicapped Children Act

    The Education for All Handicapped Children Act came was ascended into law by President Ford (Blanck, 2019). The new law set aside part of the federal budget for all states to accord equitable access to learning for every physically or mentally challenged student.
  • Education for all Handicapped Children Cont.

    Public Law 99-54 was ratified into the Handicapped Children Act, obligating every American state to meet the needs of every child living with any disability.
  • Education for all Handicapped Children cont.

    President Regan ascended the Handicapped Children's Protection Act into law, empowering parents and guardians of kids living with incapacities more control in their children's educational trajectory.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    the 1986 President Regan Act was ratified to include children living with Autism and brain damage. Additionally, the government stipulated that the education stakeholders were legally obligated to develop customized student transition plans into secondary education. President Regan's law was later ratified to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) on June 4, 1990. Then new law obligated all institutions to subject all students to a unform curricula.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) cont.

    Reagan's IDEA was further ratified by Congress, stipulating an early intervention from all educational stakeholders to ensure that every student with special educational needs was taken care of as early as possible (Turnbull et al., 2018). Consequentially, the new law also ratified the minimum requirements for all special needs educators to cover all the educational needs for these students.