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Brown vs. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled for the first time in history that it is unconstitutional to segregate students and cause them to experience inequality and prejudice at school. This is the first time that the Federal Government ever established legislation to support equal education, providing a basis for future rights for individuals with disabilities and legislation supporting accommodation for special needs in the future. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
This event is significant because it shows that there is a change in perspective from the federal government, a change from simply stating that inequality and prejudice unconstitutional to taking action. This act established that children with exceptional needs should be given assistance to better enable them to learn.This program specifically identified the needs of individuals with disabilities, creating programs to help provide them with the appropriate services. -
. Mills vs. Board of Education of the District of Columbia
Cases such as this need to be represented, as they brought forth accountability for the schools to guarantee that services provided to individuals with disabilities are adequate. This case led to be particularly influential to legislation for inclusion, PL 94-142. -
Vocational Rehabilitation Act: VRA (Public Law 93-1 12, Section 504)
This law provides definitions that are needed to enforce the previous rulings and laws that have been created in order to fully prohibit discrimination of students with disabilities in federally funded programs. It was critical to define the criteria by which students are protected and should receive accommodations, removing subjectivity about what kinds of disabilities should be accommodated for, and identifies that the concept of “appropriate education” should also be defined. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) (Public Law 94-142, Part B)
This law established the need for inclusion. It identified that the best way to provide the equal education is through providing individuals with disabilities with the least restrictive environment, which for many children includes learning among their peers in the general classroom. This act also helped to enforce the previous rulings of providing the students with a free and appropriate public education by establishing a system of creating individualized education programs (IEPs) -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (Public Law 101-476)
This revolutionary law describes specifics that enable the evaluation and improvement of special educational services provided to individuals with disabilities, the law extended special education services to include social work, rehabilitation services, assistive technologies, and transportation and transition services. Additionally the law brings about the recognition that individuals are not defined by their limitations and should not be treated or addressed as such. -
. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) (Public Law 108-446)
IDEIA brings the important intervention model, Response to Intervention (RTI), into the everyday classroom, helping to better meet the requirement of an appropriate education for all students, meaning that all students can benefit from the use of such strategies.
