Special Education

5 Pages 1308 Words

Special education began in 1965. The involvement of the federal government in education started in 1965 with the movement of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This act set the stage for reserving federal funds for the education of children in the U.S. public elementary and secondary schools. One year after the passing of the ESEA it was amended to the explicitly provide federal support for educating children with disabilities. The ESEA’s Title VI amendment authorized the use of federal funds to assist states in the start, enlargement and improvement of programs to educate children with disabilities.
The Civil Rights Movement and the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark decision in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954 set the extension of legal rights to an education for children with disabilities and their parents. There are two more important cases that helped produce a strong legal and political support for expanding federal oversight of the education of children with disabilities and they are the Pennsylvania for Retarded Children (PARC) vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1968 and Mills vs. Board of Education of the District of Columbia in 1968. The PARC vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania case was because mentally challenged children were being excluded from public schools; the ruling in this case stopped that. The Mills vs. Board of Education of the District of Columbia case was to let children with less severe disabilities enter public schools as well it was an extension of the PARC vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) was signed into law on November 29, 1975 by President Ford. The law was passed by Congress for these three reasons 1. It ensures that children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education. 2. It protects the rights students and their parents. 3. It helps states and localities in their efforts to provide such services. The EAH...