Common name for the law
-Rehabilitation Act of 1973

The Year
-1973

The Proceedings
3. What Did it Accomplish
-protected civil rights

-education access

-employment opportunities
3. What Makes it Unique
-first civil rights law for people with disabilities

-works with federal funding, making it more accessible

-not just about education, but equality as a whole

Implications
4. How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, etc.
-It gave students more equal access to education and activities

-Teachers were able to captivate more inclusive classrooms

-It helped schools to keep federal funding

Pillars of Education
5. Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address and how
-FAPE because it called for equal education access for everyone

-LRE because students with disabilities were to learn with their peers

Common name for the law

1. Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA). Now more commonly known as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)

The Year

1. 1975

What did it accomplish?

1. PL 94-142 made it so all children with disabilities are entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

2. Schools must develop an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each child with a disability.

3. Children must be educated in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) possible.

4. States must identify and evaluate all children with disabilities.

What makes it unique?

1. PL 94-142 was the first federal law mandating that schools serve the educational needs of students with disabilities.

2. It created legal obligations for states and school districts.

3. It introduced the concept of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

1. Students with disabilities gained legal rights to a public education and services tailored to their needs.

2. Parents got to have a voice in their child's education with legal protection.

3. Teachers and schools received federal funding and clearer guidelines on how to serve students with disabilities.

4. It promoted inclusion in education.

Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address, and how?

1. It guaranteed by law Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to all students with disabilities

2. It mandated nondiscriminatory, comprehensive evaluations to determine eligibility and needs.

3. It required an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

4. It ensured students would be educated with their non-disabled peers in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).

5. It required active involvement of parents in decision-making and planning.

6. It gave parents and students legal rights to challenge decisions.

Common name for the law

1. Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986.

The year

1. 1968.

What did it accomplish?

1. PL 99-457 expanded special education services.

2. It extended services to preschool-aged children with disabilities.

3. It required states to provide FAPE to these children if they accepted federal funds.

4. It created a new program for infants and toddlers with disabilities or developmental delays.

5. It introduced early intervention services for this age group and created the Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs).

What makes it unique?

1. It was the first federal law to address the educational needs of infants and toddlers.

2. It recognized the family's role in a child's development and included services for families.

How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

1. It made early intervention services and preschool special education.

2. Parents became active participants in planning their child's services through IFSPs and IEPs.

3. It increased funding and guidance for early childhood special education programs.

Which pillars of special education did the law specifically address, and how?

1. It extended FAPE to preschoolers.

2. It required evaluation and eligibility determination for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

3. It required IFSPs for infants and toddlers and IEPs for children aged 3 and older.

4. It elevated the role of families.

5. It extended due process protections to families of young children with disabilities.

Common name for the law

1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

The year

1. 1990

What did it accomplish?

1. It changed the terminology from "handicapped children" to "individuals with disabilities".

2. It required schools to begin planning for the students' transition from school to post-school life by age 16.

3. It expanded the categories of disability by adding traumatic brain injury and autism as distinct disability categories.

4. It put a greater emphasis on individualized education through the IEP.

How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

1. Students with disabilities gained support for transition planning.

2. More students received services, especially those with autism or TBI.

3. Parents receive better information and support for life after school.

4. Teachers and schools received clearer guidance on preparing students for life beyond high school.

Which pillars of special education did the law specifically address, and how?

1. It continued and expanded FAPE services to include post-secondary transition goals.

2. It required transition goals and services in IEPs starting by age 16.

3. It ensured evaluations considered new disability categories like Autism and TBI.

4. It reinforced the involvement of both parents and students in planning for the future.

5. It continued commitment to inclusion and the use of LRE.

6. It protected rights during transition planning and beyond.

Common name for the law

1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997.

The year

1. 1997

What did it accomplish?

1. It required students with disabilities to participate in state and district wide assessments.

2. It required IEPs to show how students with disabilities would be involved in and progress in the general education curriculum.

3. It introduced measurable annual goals and clarified team roles.

4. It encouraged parent participation and required regular progress reporting.

5. It addressed how schools can handle the discipline of students with disabilities.

6. It required Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBA) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) for students with behavioral issues.

7. It required transition planning to begin by age 14.

What makes it unique?

1. It focused on accountability and measurable outcomes, aligning special education more closely with general education reform.

2. It was the first law to legally mandate participation of students with disabilities in standardized testing.

3. It required detailed behavior support strategies to reduce inappropriate discipline practices.

4. It strengthened the IEP by linking it to educational standards and real-world outcomes.

How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

1. Students with disabilities gained greater access to the general education curriculum.

2. Parents received regular updates on their child's progress.

3. It provided clearer guidelines for managing behavioral issues.

4. It helped schools better plan for inclusive education.

Which pillars of special education did the law specifically address, and how?

1. It strengthened the quality of education and accountability for outcomes.

2. It maintained accurate assessments and required data to inform IEPs.

3. It required IEPs to include measurable goals, access to the general curriculum, and progress monitoring.

4. It promoted greater inclusion in general education settings.

5. It increased parent engagement and input in decision-making.

6. It added clarity around disciplinary protections and ensured behavior supports were used before removing students.

Common names for the law

1. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement

2. IDEA 2004

The year

1. 2004

Proceedings

1. What did it accomplish?

1. Revamped the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975.

2. Focused on accountability and to improve educational outcomes with the Individualized Education Program.

3. Allowed schools to elect to use a process called response to intervention (RTI). Which is a framework used to identify and support students using a multi-tiered system with evidence-based instruction and intervention. It makes sure all students get the appropriate support they need with academics and/or behavioral.

4. Provided early intervention services for families with babies and toddlers with disabilities.

   2. What makes it unique?

5. The law eliminates the requirements for short-term objectives in an IEP unless a student has been evaluated with an alternate assessment.

6. Extensively defined and required all special education teachers to be "highly qualified" by adding special criteria for special education to the ESEA requirements.

How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

1. Students with disabilities started getting their needs/requirements met earlier in their lives.

2. Parents have resources at their disposal to help provide their children with disabilities.

3. Teachers get the proper training to help identify and teach students with disabilities.

Which pillars of Special Education did the law address and how?

1. The Response to Intervention process addresses Zero Reject and Nondiscriminatory Identification and Evaluation. Making sure students have a non bias approach to receiving support by using evidence-based instruction and intervention.

Common name for the law

1. No Child Left Behind

The year

1. 2001

Proceedings

1. What did it accomplish?

1. Increased accountability of schools by requiring annual standardized tests.

2. Put focus on struggling students leading to higher test scores and graduation rates for certain groups such as students with learning disabilities.

2. What makes it unique?

1. It gave more flexibility to how schools were spending funding as long as test schools were up.

2. The focus on high-stakes testing led to negative outcomes such as teaching to test while neglecting subjects like science and social studies. It brought a one-size fits all system when it comes to schools that failed to see the unique challenges schools and individual students face.

How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

1. Students performance in mathematics went up.

2. Parents were required to get report cards with clear information on how their children and schools were preforming.

3. Federal funding was set up to support recruitment, training, and retention of teachers to improve teaching and learning.

Which pillars of Special Education did the law address and how?

1. NCLB addressed Parent and Student Participation and Decision Making by requiring schools to provide parents with transparent information about their child'd academic progress. It also allowed for alternate assessments on alternate achievement standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, which ensured parents had a more accurate picture of the students who could not reach the assigned grade-level.

Common name for the law

1. Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District V. Rowley or Board of Education V. Rowley

The Year

1. 1982

The proceedings

1. What did it accomplish?

   1. The Supreme Court clarified what it means to provide all children with a ‘free appropriate public education’ or FAPE. They ruled that an appropriate education provides the child with “some educational benefit” but does not require the school to provide an optimal educational experience. Benefits to children are "reasonably calculated to confer some educational benefit".

   2. The Board of Education V. Rowley case began the Rowley standard which is a two-prong test to decide if a child is receiving a FAPE. It asks 1. Did the school district follow the required procedures outlined in the IDEA to develop the Individualized Education Program (IEP)? and 2. Is that IEP “reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive some educational benefit”?.

   3. It set guidelines that IEPs should be created to meet student’s specific needs while not necessarily maximizing education potential.

   4. The new established requirements for FAPE made excluding students with disabilities from public education illegal.

   5. The Supreme Court decided it is up to each state to define what an “appropriate” education includes.

2. What makes it unique?

   1. The Board of Education V. Rowley was the first case to interpret the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA).

   2. The decision laid down a foundation for how FAPE is interpreted.

   3. It set new guidelines for how an IEP should be made for students.

Implications

1. How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

   1. Students with disabilities were now legally entitled to free public education.

   2. Schools were not required to give each student an optimal education which takes pressure off of them and saves them money.

   3. Students were entitled to an education which benefits them (although isn’t necessarily optimal or the maximum education possible).

Pillars of Special Education

1. Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address, and how?

   1. It defined what a Free and Appropriate Public Education really means.

   2. It set new guidelines for an IEP to be reasonably calculated to meet student’s needs while not necessarily requiring maximum educational benefits.

Common name for the law

1. Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education

The Year

1. 1989

The proceedings

1. What did it accomplish?

   1. Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education established a two-prong test to determine if a school is complying with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’s Least Restrictive Environment mandate. It asks 1. Can the child be satisfactorily educated in a general education classroom? and 2. Has the school mainstreamed the child into the classroom to the maximum extent appropriate?

   2. The case’s ruling enforced the idea that children with disabilities should be educated with non-disabled children to the maximum extent before considering separation.

   3. The ruling clarified that although IDEA enforces inclusion, a student’s needs and how it affects the rest of the classroom are important factors to consider.

2. What makes it unique?

   1. Daniel R. R. V. State Board of Education initiated a two-prong test to determine if a school is compliant with the IDEA.

   2. This case clarified IDEA’s mandate for the least restrictive environment.

Implications

1. How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

   1. It established legal framework to figure out the “least restrictive environment” for students with disabilities which would benefit the student.

Pillars of Special Education

1. Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address, and how?

   1. The case addressed FAPE by creating a two-part test to see if schools are in compliance with FAPE under the IDEA’s least restrictive environment mandate.

   2. The case addressed LRE by establishing a two-prong test to ensure schools are in compliance with LRE.

Common name for the case

1. Brown v. Board of Education

The year

1. 1952-1954

Proceeding

1. What did it accomplish?

1. Ended the separate but equal for white and Black students and made it unlawful to discriminate against a group of individuals for arbitrary reasons.

2. Lead to the argument that students with disabilities cannot be excluded from public education.

2. What makes it unique?

1. It made education for anyone a right not a privilege which paved the way for many of children with disabilities to receive an appropriate education.

How did it benefit students, parents, teachers?

1. Students could get a proper education no matter who they were.

What pillars of Special Education did the case address?

1. Zero Reject by making it unlawful to turn away a student for arbitrary reasons.

Common name for the law

1. Oberti v. Board of Education of the Borough of Clementon School District

The Year

1. 1992

The proceedings

1. What did it accomplish?

   1. The ruling determined that children with disabilities in a general education classroom must be provided with supplementary aids and services before considering a more segregated placement. They cannot be excluded from a classroom because the class would require modifications.

   2. Judicial preference to integrate students with disabilities into the general education classroom was established.

   3. The case established the Oberti test which requires schools to presume inclusion of students to the general education classroom with aids and services.

2. What makes it unique?

   1. The case established the Oberti Test.

   2. Oberti v. Board of Education of the Borough of Clementon School District determined children must be provided with appropriate aids and services before considering segregating the student.

Implications

1. How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

   1. Students with disabilities have more of a chance to remain in the general education classroom.

   2. The school district bears the burden of proving they have made maximum efforts to include the student in the general education classroom which is a benefit for parents and students.

Pillars of Special Education

1. Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address, and how?

   1. The case addressed that a school was in violation of the IDEA act for not providing a student with supplementary aids and services and that students should be educated with their non-disabled classmates to the maximum extent.

Common name for the law

1. Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F.

The Year

1. 1999

The proceedings

1. What did it accomplish?

   1. Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F. ruled that the related services provision in the IDEA required public school districts to pay for “continuous, one-on-one nursing care for disabled children”.

   2. This case determined schools must provide health care services necessary for a child to attend school. This excludes physicians.

2. What makes it unique?

   1. The case is unique because it decided that public school districts must pay for health services, excluding those needed to be administered by physicians, necessary for a child to attend school.

   2. The Education Flexibility Partnership Act had amendments made to increase IDEA funding because of the results of this case.

Implications

1. How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, or anyone?

   1. It benefits students by giving them the medical assistance they need to attend school.

   2. It benefits parents because they don’t have to worry about paying for or obtaining the health assistance their child may need while in school.

Pillars of Special Education

1. Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address, and how?

   1. This case addressed FAPE by ensuring students get the medical assistance they need under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Common name for case

1. PARC v. Pennsylvania

2. PARC Consent Decree

3. The Arc

The year

1. 1971-1972

Proceedings

1. What did it accomplish?

   1. Free public education for all children with intellectual disabilities from the ages 6-21.

   2. Preschool services to children with disabilities.

2. What makes it unique?

   1. The first lawsuit in the United States to establish a constitutional right to education for children with intellectual disabilities.

Benefits

1. Students receive educational programs designed for their individual needs.

What pillars of Special Education did the case address?

1. It mandated Least Restrictive Environment (preferably in the general classroom setting.)

2. Before PARC students with intellectual disabilities could be excluded from school if their mental age does not meet a certain threshold. PARC addressed Zero Reject.

3. Free and Appropriate Public Education by increasing opportunities and accessibility for students with intellectual disabilities.

Common name for the law

-Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Year

-1990

The Proceedings

3. What Did it Accomplish

-Prohibited discrimination against people with disabilities

-The goal of this act was to give them the same opportunities as everyone else

3. What Makes it Unique

-Civil Rights Law, not Education

-Broad Coverage, not just education

-First law to offer equality for people with disabilities in all areas of life

Implications

4. How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, etc.

- It benefited students because there was more opportunity for them to be included in activities that they weren't previously able to

-Parents were benefited because their students were able to be more involved, giving parents more freedom, work ability, and peace of mind

-Teachers benefited because it set a better framework in classrooms and allowed them to work more closely with students and parents.

Pillars of Education

5. Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address and how

-FAPE with equal access

-LRE with inclusion and participation

Common name for the law

-Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA)

The Year

-2008

The Proceedings

3. What Did it Accomplish

-broadened the idea of what a disability is

-reached more people

-helped strengthen civil rights protections

-changed the way that disabilities were evaluated and handled

3. What Makes it Unique

-It helped build off of the ADA and make it stronger

Implications

4. How did it benefit students, parents, teachers, etc.

- Students were treated more fairly and had more access to what they needed

-Parents had more time and help

-Communities became more inclusive

-Schools had more guidance and resources

Pillars of Education

5. Which pillars of Special Education did the law specifically address and how

-FAPE because more students are able to receive the accommodations they need

-LRE because inclusion is strengthened