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In the 1950s there were family associations that began lobbying for training for teachers of "mentally retarded" students as they were called at the time. They also protested the exclusion of their children from public schools.
As a result, multiple laws that granted funding for special education were passed (Kent, 2023), (Staff, 2023) -
The court ruled that segregated schools violated equal educational opportunity. It established an understanding that everyone deserved equal access to public education.
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An amendment to the Secondary and Elementary Education Act provided public funding for students with disabilities
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The Rehabilitation Act specified that students with disabilities could not be denied benefits from programs that were funded by federal funds.
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The Education for all Handicapped Children Act was signed into law to guarantee the right of children with disabilities to receive free, appropriate education (Staff, 2023).
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Every student who qualifies for special education programs must be provided with individualized instruction to meet their specific needs (Western Governors University, 2022).
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the EHA was substantially revised and was renamed as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA ensured the availability of meaningful, measurable programs for students with special needs. It also provided parents with more access to be involved in the development of their child's IEP program.
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This Act improved the quality of special education programs at the state level by requiring special training for special education teachers. It also required state-wide assessments for teachers to teach students with disabilities.
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This Act rectified many of the controversies that the NCLB Act had. It did away with the standardized test requirement and penalties that schools faced if students were not on track to reach proficiency on state tests (Lee, 2023).