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Brown V. Board of Education
Separate is NOT Equal. Although Brown V. Board was a court case that mainly focused on African-American students being included in the public school systems, this case is important in the world of Special Education because it ruled that separate is not equal. After this ruling, parents of individuals with disabilities began to bring attention and lawsuits against school districts for excluding and segregating their students because of a disability. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Based on this law, it is illegal for the school to deny participation in activities, benefits of programs, or to in any way dicriminate against a person with a disability based solely on the disability. All supports and accomodations that are needed to support students with disabilities must be provided and students with disabilities must have the same access to programs and services as other students. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Students with disabilities have the right to FAPE. Schools must have an IEP on file for students with disabilities and must place the students in their LRE. Students with disabilities are protected and must be assessed in ways that are considered fair and nondiscriminatory. Parents of students with disabilities have the right to inspect school records on their child and must be informed of any changes in placement on the child's IEP. The parents have the right to challenge any changes made. -
Board of Education V. Rowley
"An appropriate education requires some educational benefit."
Based on the ruling in Board V. Rowley, the school system is not required to provide the best education possible to students with disabilities. Instead, the school is required to provide the supports and accomodations that allow the student some educational benefit. This court case helped define that appropriate stands for in FAPE and is looked at on a student by student basis. -
Irving Independent School District V. Tatro
Defining Related Services
Based on the ruling of Board of Education V. Tatro, the school is required to provide all services that are able to be provided to the student without a physician. In this specific case, this meant that the school was required to have the school nurse catheterize being she was able to do so without a physician. This defined related services, but the related services required are dependent upon each individuals needs. -
Burlington School Committee V. Massachusetts Department of Education
Private Schooling for FAPE.
According to the ruling in this case, the parent has the right to reimbursment of the cost of provate schooling IF the public school is unable to provide an appropriate education. This is only the case if FAPE is not able to be provided in a public school, not just when the parent decides to persue a private education because it is better than a public education (the school must provide an appropriate education, not the BEST education). -
Amendments to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act
These amendments extend rights to families with preschoolers with a disability. These amendments require that required assessments and services are provided for these students and that an individualized family service plan is developed for these families and students. -
Honig V. Doe
Student Expulsion
The Supreme Court removed the school's unilateral authority to suspend or expel a student with an IEP for more than 10 days without a change in placement. In the case that a student is suspended or expelled for more than 10 days then the LRE needs to be reconsidered and the placement of the student needs to be more conducive to the student's individual needs. -
Individuals with Disabilities Act
Reauthorizes the Education for all Handicapped Children Act. This also added the categories Autism and Traumatic Brain Injury to the definition of students with disabilities. This act also made assistive technology more widely available for the students with disabilities that require this assistance. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, services rendered by state and local governments, transportation, places of public accommodation, etc. -
Board of Education V. Rachel H.
Four Factors of LRE
Based on the ruling in this case, when determining a student's LRE, the IEP team must consider: the educational benefits of the general education classroom (with supports and services), the benefit of interaction with students without disabilities, the effect of the student's presence on the general education teacher and students, and the costs of mainstreaming the student. -
Cedar Rapids V. Garret F.
Costs of Related Services
In the case of Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F. the court was asked to relook at related services. In this case, the Supreme Court was looking specifically at how much the school was required to pay for related services for students with disabilities. The court ruled that there is no price limit on related services and that all related services required for the student are the school's responsibility to provide and pay for. -
No Child Left Behind Act
Reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This act is for all students, including those with disabilities and requires annual assessments in reading and math in Grades 3-8 and one year of high school. This act hopes to put some of the responsibility of the schools on the federal government. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
This act requires that teachers of students with disabilities are considered highly qualified in the subject areas that they are providing instruction. There is also a change in funding that allows support services to be provided in the gen. education setting for students not yet identified as sped. This act also changes how scores are used to determine learning disabilities.
