Special Education Timeline

By melee1
  • Perkins Institution for the Blind Opened

    This institution acknowledged the need for those with blindness to be around others with the same disability, and learn to carry out daily life with visual impairment.
  • Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas

    Isolation and segregation of students with disabilities were challenged as not being the best practice of learning for those students.
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    First federal law providing funding to states to aid in the cost for services and improving programs for students with disabilities.
  • Diana vs. State Board of Education of California

    A student who spoke Spanish as her primary language was tested using English. After scoring poorly on the test, the student was placed in a segregated class with mild intellectual disabilities.
  • Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    Children with intellectual disabilities won the right to be educated in a public school environment with teaching methods and support for those students. Learning would be adjusted to their needs.
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

    First civil rights law in the United States to provide protection for individuals with disabilities of all ages.
  • Education of the Handicapped Act

    Congress passed this act requiring states to create complete programs for students with disabilities and increased federal support for these programs.
  • Irving Independent School District v. Tatro

    Health services needed for a student with disabilities were deemed related services because these needs could be supplied without a physician.
  • Americans with Disabilities Act

    Requires accommodations and services for adults with disabilities, regardless of their age. It was amended in 2008 to include both public and private sectors. An organization cannot refuse to hire/employ someone due to their disability.
  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    Outlines six principles to ensure the educational rights of students with disabilities and their parents while students are in K-12 education. The six principles include: zero reject, free appropriate public education (FAPE), least restrictive environment (LRE), nondiscriminatory evaluation, parent and family rights, and procedural safeguards.