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Brown v. Board of Education
The Supreme Court ruled that discrimination and segregation on the basis of race was unconstitutional. This laid the foundation for future court decisions that equality among students was a constitutional right. Protecting the rights of disabled students proved to be the natural progression of this decision. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 4) -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) was established by Congress to provide equal access to public education for disadvantaged students. The lunch program was part of this act, establishing free and reduced lunches to qualifying children. The act also encouraged states to create and improve services offered to students with disabilities. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 4) -
P.L. 94-142
With the passage of P.L. 94-142, also called the Education of All Handicapped Children Act, states were now requred to provide a free and appropriate education to all diabled students. Students with disabilities would now recieve education specific to their needs. This put the pressure on educators to develope effective strategies for teaching disabled children as relatively little was known at this time. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 5) -
IDEA
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) was federal legislation that expanded on P.L, 94-142 of 1975. This act would see further reforming in 2004 through the establishment of IDEIA. This expanded the services disabled children could receive at school to include services like social work, rehabilitation and technology assistance. It also increased student and parental privacy and authorized the use of "people first" language. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 6) -
P.L. 105-117
Public Law 105-117 continued to define the rights and services to be offered to disabled students. Important improvements included allowing disabled students access to general education curriculum, including the general education teacher as part of the IEP process, and requires disabled students to participate in statewide assessments. The measures all point toward integrating the disabled student into the general classroom. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 7) -
NCLB
The NCLB (No Child Left Behind Act) established greater testing and accountability requirements for schools to ensure the progress of all students. Disabled students are also required to make adequate annual progress. Schools with students lagging behind the established standards are then assisted in restructuring their programs to help them met the assessment expectations. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 5) -
RTI Implementation
The Office of Special Education Programs brought together leading researchers to discuss how to more effectively identify those students needing intervention. RTI (Response to Intervention) was the agreed upon model to implement. RTI seeks to identify students early before they actually begin to fail in school through the use of regular monitoring, beginning as early as kindergarten. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 43) -
IDEIA
Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act which emphasizes early identification as a way of preventing students from falling further behind. IDEIA recommends a multitier intervention strategy which adapts the intensity of the intervention to how well the student is progressing. It also requires schools to better integrate general and special education. (Vaughn, Bos, Schumm, 45) -
IDEA
IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) was passed in 1990 and was a expansion of P.L. 94-142. This legislation was further revised in 2004 as IDEIA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act). IDEA was established to further ensure that disabled students recieve an adequate education and access to services.
