Special Education Progression

By ktherinerussell

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    The ruling in this case is famous for the "separate but equal" clause it upheld within segregation of whites and blacks. (UMKC n.d.) Although this case was about color, the ruling kept it legal for schools to segregate students with disabilities and special needs (McLeskey et al, 2013).

  • Brown v. Board of Education

    This ruling decided that segregation based on race was inherently unequal. Advocates for students with disabilities and special education cited this case as support for students with disabilities to be included in mainstream classes (McLeskey, 2013, p. 33).

  • The Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    ESEA is the precursor to the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the act is "intended to ensure that all children — including those with disabilities — have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education" (2014).

  • PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    This case gave parents specific rights for being included in the decision making process when dealing with their disabled child's education (Martin et al, 1996).

  • Mills v. Board of Education D.C.

    According to Martin et al (1996), this court ruling decided that schools could not refuse to educate students with disabilities on the basis of unavailable resources or inadequate funding. Students with disabilities have the same rights as mainstream students to education opportunities.

  • Rehabilitation Act, 504, & FAPE

    A Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is guaranteed to students with disabilities under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 via section 504 (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). All students with disabilities are entitled to an appropriate education with equal access to appropriate programs and services offered by public schools.

  • Education for All Handicapped Children Act

    Later to become IDEA, this law "provided a funding mechanism to help with the excess costs" related to providing services for students with disabilities (Martin et al, 1996).

  • IDEA

    Through the amending of the EAHCA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act brought about servicing students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (Peterson, n.d.).

  • No Child Left Behind Act

    This ruling held that teachers should be highly qualified, students should be held to high standards, and there should be strong accountability for results (Peterson, n.d.).

  • IDEIA

    The key component of this amendment to the IDEA is that research-based instruction practices should be used in classrooms (Munroe, 2013).

  • Current Events

    Today, inclusion is the defining practice for special education. Students with disabilities are included in regular education classrooms at their achievement level and are given accommodations in order to succeed at high expectations. Students with disabilities need to feel accepted and included in mainstream social situations and it has been determined that SWDs benefit highly from inclusion practices (Peterson, n.d.).

  • The Future of Special Education?

    Because education practices tend to swing on a kind of pendulum, inclusion practices will no doubt become more popular, although there are sure to be some nay-sayers still in education who oppose mixing SWDs with mainstream students. Inclusion brings with it it's own challenges and future teachers will need to learn best practices in order to best reach all students.