SPED Timeline

By tommybarr

  • 1954: Brown vs Board of Education

    Declared separate but equal schools for differing races to be unconstitutional (Peterson, 2007)
  • Period: to

    1960s-1970s: Pre-IDEA

    Special Education professionals note the racial disparities of the services (Skiba et al., 2008)

  • 1962: John F. Kennedy created the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation

    John F. Kennedy’s sister had an intellectual disability
    Panel issued a report that recommended Congress enact a statute authorizing federal assistance to states so that they may educate children with disabilities (President's Panel on Mental Retardation, 1963; Turnbull & Turnbull, 2015)

  • 1965: Bureau of Education for the Handicapped created

    Congress adds Title VI to the elementary and Secondary Education act of 1965
    Today it is called the Office of Special Education Programs (Peterson, 2007)

  • 1973: Section 540 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

    Federal law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability (Peterson, 2007)

  • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

    Parents allowed access to all student data as long as student is under 18 (Peterson, 2007)

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    Was originally known as Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)
    All school districts are now mandated to educate students with disabilities (Peterson, 2007)

  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

    Adopts the 504 section and results in more widespread use in school districts(Peterson, 2007)

  • EAHCA is amended and name changed

    Officially becomes known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
    Major change was that districts are now responsible for assessing how students transition from high school to post-secondary life (Peterson, 2007)

  • Re-Authorization of IDEA

    Attempted to address the issues of high dropout rates and mislabeling of minority children (Skiba et al., 2008)
    Regular education teachers are now part of the IEP (Peterson, 2007)

  • No Child Left Behind

    Calls for all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014 (Peterson, 2007)

  • Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act

    States must monitor disproportionality by race or ethnicity in special education placement
    Any local educational agency that has been determined to have a problem with disproportionality must devote the maximum amount of part B funds allowable (15%) to early intervention programs (Skiba et al., 2008)
    Increased data outcomes required to hold schools and school districts accountable. Also put an emphasis on intervention to keep students out of special education (Peterson, 2007)