The History of the Law and Children with Disabilities

1972

PARC (Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children vs. Pennsylvania)

The suit named the state's secretary of Education and Public Welfare, the state Board of Education, and 13 school districts. It permitted the schools to deny education to children who do not reach the mental age of five or the average intellectual of people aged five before they begin first grade.

Mills vs. Board of Education

Parents of seven children filed a suit because their children did not have access to public education. Students with disabilities are entitled to an education, which cannot be denied based on the accommodations' added cost of the school.

1973

Section 504

After the Vietnam War, people were neglected because they did not receive help and benefits. Then, because of that, Section 504 was created to ensure that a child with a disability will have access to a learning environment. From K-12 grade levels.

2004

IDEIA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act)

President Bush signed the IDEIA. There were changes in the IEPs, discipline, and identification of students with learning disabilities. Also, that teacher should be qualified and certified to give an education.

1997

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments)

The law provided access to children with special needs and access to the general curriculum to provide equality in education.

1990

IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

EAHCA was then named IDEA. There were a lot regulations to the law. It provided the individualized education programs (IEP) of students with disability who were 16 or older. Brain injury and Austin were added to the disability categories.

1975

EAHCA (Education of the Handicapped Amendments)

At the beginning, parents received services Parents then received services from the moment their children were born through age 2, by using early interventions. Then the, Part B of the program was extended to 3 to 5 years old.

1970

The Education of the Handicapped Act

Guarantee the FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) to the students with special needs in order to progress in their learning.

1954

Brown vs. Board of Education

It was Case-based, particularly on African Americans' civil rights and equality of opportunity. It leads to creating regulations in education and eventually for individuals with disabilities.

1910

The White House Conference

Children with special needs were moved from institutions to public schools since it was stated that they could learn.

Based on Prior Institutionalization, people just hide their children with special needs in their homes. The Lack of information did not let them understand what to do to help them out. Then there was the Institutionalization where people placed their children in a facility now considered a jail. After that, there was de DeInstitutionalization, where people allowed children with special needs to have a better engagement with the community and the opportunity to learn.

IDEA Six pillars:
Individualized Education Program (IEP). The roadmap of the student's educational program: It is designed to meet the child's unique academic needs as determined by parents, educators, and others who can assist in developing an appropriate course of study.
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): Assurance that the student, regardless of disability, receives the same general Education as his peers.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Integrating special needs students into regular classrooms to the maximum extent possible.
Appropriate Evaluation: Evaluation standards ensure the student is placed correctly, their progress assessed at regular intervals, and they receive additional help as needed.
Parent and Teacher Participation: Regular, consistent, and cooperative communication between parents and educators, with an eye toward student progress and growth.
Procedural Safeguards: Parents understand their rights and responsibilities and how they may review progress, be involved, and mediate disputes.

Through this chapter, I can recognize the importance of some specific events. The Brown vs. Board of Education was a momentous event that helped guarantee that students with disabilities receive free appropriate Education. Furthermore, the Mills vs. Board and PARC helped to improve regulations in obtaining an education no matter the disability or age. For example, it was known that children no older than five could be assessed to receive interventions, but this was changed then. Then there was Section 504, which wasn't directly to the students with disabilities at the beginning, but since there was a percentage of people who needed the right their Education to a general classroom. Finally, in the following years, the EAHCA worked diligently to accommodate how the students would receive their Education. It was essential to have prepared teachers and also the equality of Education!