Special Education Legislation Graphic Organizer

How has special Education Evolved?

Amendments to the EAHCA

Work Cited

Handicapped Children’s Protection Act (P.L. 99-372) 1986

Description of the Law: Provided for the award of the attorney’s fees to prevailing parties according the Courts’ Discretion

Significance to Special Education: Those seeking litigation could be reimbursed for attorneys’ fees. This may affect the decision to seek or not representation based on financial decisions

Murdick, Nikki L., Barbara C. Gartin, and Terry Crabtree. "Chapters 1 and 2."Special education law. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2007. 3-42. Print.

The EAHCA was renamed:

Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (P.L. 99-457) 1986

Significance to Special Education: Services could now be provided to children 3-5 years old.

Description of the Law: Provided funding for the planning and implementation of early intervention programs for young children with special knees.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendment s (P.L. 102-119) 1991

Description of the Law: Name of Part H was changed to Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities.

Significance for Special Education: Federal funds were authorized to assist states in the education of preschool-youth.

...and yet again

then in 1997 amended again

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (P.L. 101-476) 1990

Description of the Law: Changed the name of the Handicapped Children’s Act. Reflected the use of “people first” language.

Significance to Special Education: included individuals 18-21 years old. It also added transition services and assistive technology. Services and rights were also expanded to include the children with autism and traumatic brains injuries

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments (P.L. 105-17) 1997

Description of Law: Modifications to improve education results and promote school safety” and “to increase parental participation and reverse the trend of increasingly antagonistic parent-school relationships.

Significance for Special Education: protection of the rights of students with disabilities who are violent or dangerous. States provide mediation between schools and parents. Districts may now share the cost of assistive technology.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (P.L. 108-44) 2004

Description of the Law: Defined highly qualified special education teachers, reduced paperwork, changes in compliance, providing services to those who are homeless.

Significance for Special Education: reduced the conflict with the IDEA and No Child Left Behind. Less paperwork was promised and monitoring focused on students’ academic performance, not just compliance of procedures

Finally, the last original piece of legislation

No Child Left Behind (P.L. 107-110) 2001

Description of the Law: Focused on providing federal funds to improve the achievement of students who are disadvantaged. This included funds for intervention programs for at-risk students. It also targeted dropout prevention. This law focuses on developing high-quality teachers through training, intervention and recruitment.

Significance for Special Education: Focus is on reaching goals of improving student achievement of all including students with disabilities.

IN ADDITION TO THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973, ANOTHER LAW THAT EXPANDS ON THE PROTECTION OF PROVIDES SUPPORT TO THE IDEA IS:

Americans with Disabilities Act (P.L. 101-336) 1990Description of the Law: National mandates to end discrimination of those with disabilities.Significance relative to Special Education: Accommodations must be developed and implemented in all areas of education for those individuals with disabilities. Those with infectious disease that are no threat of safety to others must not be discriminated against in the school. This included HIV/AIDS.

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Federal Legislation was created for those

states using federal funds.

and amended

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (P.L. 89-10) 1965

Description of Law: To provide “something for everyone” (p. 16) This law was a Federal commitment to improve education for those that were considered “educationally disadvantaged”.

Significance relative to Special Education: Allowed residential facilities to hire more teachers, equipment and support staff

In addition to the EASA, Civil Rights Legislation led to the:

Rehabilitation Act (P.L 93-112) 1973

Description of Law: Federal support is given for the rehabilitation and training of persons with disabilities in obtaining employment and full participation in society (OSERS, 1992).

Significance relative to Special Education: This falls under Federal antidiscrimination legislation.

Includes Section 504, which determines the eligibility is determined solely on the existence of a disability. This not only includes those individuals that are eligible for services under IDEA but also those that do not qualify for the specialized services but do have a disability. This guarantees rights to those above in programs that receive federal funding.

The Kennedy Era: New focus on the federal

government's involvement

Amendments of the ESEA:

November of 1975

Education of the Handicapped Act (P. L. 91-230) 1970

Description of the Law: consolidated grant programs related to children with disabilities.

Significance relative to Special Education: was a precursor or EAHCA

Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act 1963

Description of Law: Allowed for the implementation of recommendation of the Presidents’ Panel on Mental Retardation

Significance relative to Special Education: Funding the development of research centers, university affiliated facility and community facilities whose purposes were to expand the knowledge and services available for person s with mental retardation.

The EAHCA provided federal involvement in the education of those with disabilities to ensure they were not being excluded from public education, receiving inappropriate education and segregated due to misclassification.

Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Amendments

(P.L. 88-156) 1963

Description of the Law: Made it possible for the advocacy groups to carry out the recommendations of the President’s Panel.

Significance relative to Special Education: Education for those individuals with disabilities started in a new direction and the basic rights of those individuals were now taken into account with several court decisions based on these Amendments.

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Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) (P. L. 94-142) 1975

It also set criteria for those receiving services.

The criteria are:

• High Incidence: serious emotional disturbance, speech and language impairment, students with learning disabilities, mental retardation, and developmental delay.
• Low incidence: hearing impairments including deafness, vision impairments including blindness, orthopedic impairments, autism, brain injuries or any combination of the above.

Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (P.L. 93-380) 1974

Description of the Law: Directed states to develop plans that included a timeline for providing educational opportunities to children with disabilities.

Significance relative to Special Education: Protected children during the process of identification for services. Testing and evaluation materials were to be nondiscriminatory. It also stated that children should been placed in regular class when possible

Description of Law: The Federal Government will assist State and local efforts to provide programs to meet the education needs of handicapped children in order to assure equal protection of the law.

Significance to Special Education:

Six basic principles.

Zero Reject: Free appropriate education for all.

Nondiscrimination Assessment: Testing and evaluation shall not be racially or culturally discriminatory.

Procedural Due Process: Parents and educators are equal partner in the child’s education.

Parental Participation: Defines who the “parent” is.

Least Restrictive Environment: States that preferred placement for students in the regular classroom.

Individualized Education Program: IEP documents stating expectations.