History of Education

Before there was the 504 Plan and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, children with disabilities were denied the right to have an education. When the education for all handicapped children act (EHA) was passed, all schools receiving federal funding were required to provide handicapped children with equal access to education. In 1990, when the EHA was reauthorized, it was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The two important court rulings were the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1971 and Mills vs. The Board of Education of the District of Columbia in 1972 (ERIC Clearinghouse, 1998). These court decisions showed that “the responsibility of States and local school districts to educate individuals with disabilities is derived from the equal protection law of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”(ERIC Clearinghouse, 1998, n.p.)

There have also been landmark court cases like Brown v Board of Education and Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Pennsylvania (PARC) which as a result set the wheels in motion for special education reform. The Education for Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA) in 1990, has had the greatest impact on special education in public schools. When the law was originally passed in 1975 it required all school districts that accepted federal funds to provide disabled students, ages 5-21, equal access to an education in the least restrictive (LRE) setting possible. Schools were to also disperse funds equally among all students and provide free of charge, the necessary

The first two laws that dealt with this issue were the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. These laws provided federal funds and established regulations to protect equal access to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for students with disabilities. Over time, these laws have been amended and federal financial incentives have been tied to state compliance. Congress and the courts have clarified and reauthorized these laws along with passing additional legislation guaranteeing equal access and opportunities.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was a legal protection for people with disabilities. It is a civil rights law in which prohibits any discrimination against people in any programs from discriminating. Congressman Charles Vanik from Ohio, and Senator Humphrey from Minnesota, proposed this amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It is a civil rights mandate, not a special education law. When examining schools and educational systems, in the past, there seemed to be detrimental experiences in which students with a handicap and/or disability were discriminated upon. They needed a mandate and legal protection in which protected them in order to receive equal

Earl Warren held the position of Chief Justice between 1953 and 1969. He led a liberal majority, who utilized the judicial authority to

In 1973, according to the University of Chicago website, it states “Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a law that protects individuals from discrimination based on their disability in connection with any public or private program

Civil rights of any individual was also expounded on in the 1960’s. All ethnicities wanted equal rights for everyone because of discrimination and segregation that took place in the north as well as the south. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 allowed the Federal Government the right to investigate Civil Rights Violations which did nothing except bring it out for an example of what was to come for freedom. Schools were separated to white and black public schools. The white schools had far better facilities and even more in ways of academics and expectations than the black schools. The blacks schools were typically run down with unequipped teachers who cared, but couldn’t do anything about it. Few challenged the schools because of the one set standard of law set in place about segregation through Plessy vs. Ferguson. This was the standard until Brown vs. Board of Education where they said that separate was not equal and could never be. This showed the people that many things could be accomplished if it was a just cause. On May 6, 1960 President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960. A year later on

The Civil Rights era of the 1950’s and 1960’s ushered in copious federal spending directed towards the desegregation of American Society. Moreover, the ultimate goal was the creation of a leveled playing field that would allow minorities opportunities to gain access and reap benefits that had not been traditionally extended to them, thereby resulting in large disparities in wealth, resource, and education between races and cultures. In a courageous attempt to amend these woes, Congress passed a series of legislation designed to achieve these ends. One of the most notable pieces of legislation passed during this era was the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Created with all-deliberate intention of desegregating schools

The post 1945 Civil Rights movement, also known as the “Second Reconstruction”, began its trek to equality by challenging the education system. Civil rights activists believed a decent education was a right reserved for all. They saw schooling as their doorway to begin “socializing” white children at a young age to the idea of being around and working alongside black children. More importantly, education readies people for the working world, and activists believed integrating schooling would allow them the opportunity to get the same education and skill set currently reserved for white schools. Therefore, making them just as prepared or “equal” as white folks. This would not come easily though. We see a prime example of massive resistance

In a 2014 report from McCann, special education services were federally mandated for the first time in 1965 by the Education of Handicapped Children Act, and a two-year $3.5 million program was created to provide formula grants to states for funding education of special needs students. According to the website, www.understandingspecialeducation.com (2009), in 1975 Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act which guaranteed a “free and appropriate public education” (FAPE). This act was later modified and became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA. IDEA requires individual states to provide children with special education services as a condition of receiving federal funding for education. The largest portion of IDEA is called IDEA

Public Law 94-142: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), requires states to provide free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for every child regardless of disability. This federal law was the first to clearly define the rights of disabled children to receive special education services if their disability affects their educational performance. A parent of a special education student also has basic rights under IDEA including the right to have their child evaluated by the school district and to be included when the school district meets about the child or makes decisions about his or her education. If a child is identified as in need of special education

Social, cultural and political changes have immense influences on the education sector. This has been witnessed from the onset African and Asian immigration into the United States from 1954 till present times. During the last quarter of the 20th century, immigrants to the US were denied education and those who received education did so under great threats. The dominant view of society about immigrants during this period was extremely negative and rejecting; thereby not deserving of an education. Currently, the education has been made affordable to everybody due to changing atmosphere of unprecedented social change. In education, this change resulted in the legal dismantling of segregated education for African American children (Collins, 2008). As African American children integrated the schools in the United States, they came to school with the stigma of slavery and the negative attitudes held by the agents of the educational institution. Attitudes and held perceptions were the catalyst for constructions such as biased assessment and the retardation paradigm. From these constructions emerged practices in special education that held large numbers of African American students captive in not only the educational milieu, but also limited their work potential. For this reason, the sociopolitical landscape as a context for curriculum, instruction, and assessment has continued to play a significant role in the education

Parents and supporters of students with disabilities were able to use this case to improve educational opportunities for their children, and “established the right of all children to an equal opportunity for an education” (Heward., 2009, p. 26). Individuals With Disabilities Education ActIn 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), which is also known as Public Law 94-142, was passed by Congress and has been reauthorized and amended by Congress five times since it passed. In 1900, congress changed the name from Education of All Handicapped Children Act, and enacted The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act instead. This law was later reauthorized in 1997 and named Public Law 105-17, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments (IDEA), was passed into a federal special education law, with final federal regulations being published in March 1999, and retained all of the earlier versions of Public Law 94-142. In 2004 this act was again reauthorized and became The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), also known as IDEA 2004.The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, requires that public schools serve all students and “ensures that children with learning disabilities have the ability to receive a free appropriate public education that

I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I learned everything I needed to know there. Everything that has to do with life that is. I started my education there and I will continue it where ever I go. My educational background was just as normal and fun like any other kids. But I was the unique child that made my education different and more enjoyable. My learning process has five processes: elementary, middle, high school, college, and the future.