Special Education Timeline

  • Lower Age for Voting

    The United States lowers the voting age to 18 years old.
  • Congressional Investigation of 1972

    Congress set out to discover how many children with disabilities were not receiving an appropriate education. The investigation found that 8 million children required special education services but only 3.9 million students had their educational needs met.
  • 1975

    Congress enacted the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, also known as the EHA. This act supported states and localities in protecting the rights of the individual needs and improves the results for young children with disabilities.
  • Public Law 99-457

    This was an amendment to the All Handicapped Children Act that required individual states to provide services to families with children born with disabilities. This service starts at birth but was previously not started until the age of three.
  • Ronald Reagan for President

    President Reagan was elected in 1980 and defeated incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter.
  • President Reagan

    President Reagan signed the Handicapped Children's Protection Act which gave parents of children with disabilities more of a say in their child's individual education plan (IEP).
  • Public Law 101-476

    This law called for major changes to Public Law 94-142. These changes included two new disabilities categories which were traumatic brain injuries and autism. Also, Congress mandated individual transition plans for these students.
  • Oklahoma City Bombing

    In 1995, a Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City was bombed by a Domestic terrorist group.
  • IDEA

    Education for all Handicapped Children's Act was renamed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA. President Clinton made several key amendments that emphasized all students using the same curriculum.
  • IDEA Intervention

    In 2004, Congress called for early intervention and greater accountability and raised the standards for instructors who teach special education. Local schools districts had to shift up to fifteen percent of their special education funds to general education if it was deemed that an unfair number of minority groups were in special education for reasons other than disabilities.
  • Canes Won Stanley Cup

    In 2006, the Carolina Hurricanes, based in Raleigh, NC, won the Stanley Cup. They won in game 7 against the Edmonton Oilers.
  • IDEA Regulations

    In 2008, regulations were implemented to clarify and strengthen the implementation of IDEA programs. Some of these regulations included parental consent for continued special education services, non-attorney representation in due process hearings, and allocation of funds.
  • Summer Olympics

    The London Olympic Games took place in the summer of 2012. The US won 46 gold medals.