Timeline of Special Education

Special Education

Ashley Vilaysing

TESP 302

2017

Sources

1954

Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District

Brown v. BOE

Msw, P. W. W. E. a. P. D. W. M. (n.d.). The History of Special Education Law in the United States by Peter W.D. Wright, Esq. and Pamela Darr Wright - Wrightslaw. https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/history.spec.ed.law.htm

Turnbull, A., Turnbull, H. R., Wehmeyer, M. L., & Shogren, K. A. (2019). Exceptional lives: Special Education in Today’s Schools.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (2023, November 30). A history of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. https://sites.ed.gov/idea/IDEA-History#2000s-10s

Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District overturned BOE v. Rowley. It expands on the IEP (Individualized Education Program), so that it considers and ensures progress and the student's potential for growth. The Supreme Court believed that "every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives."

Brown v. Board of Education established that schools could no longer be segregated. The decision determined that African Americans had a right to equal educational opportunities that they were not getting within the segregated schools.

This decision then impacted special education. If Brown v. BOE said public schools could not segregate on the basis of race, then they should not be able to segregate on the basis of disability or ability.

For classrooms today, this means upholding IDEA and all of its components, giving every student with a disability an appropriate education and in the least restrictive environment.

TBD

1973

1982

The Rehabilitation Act

BOE v. Rowley

The Future of Special Education

The Rehabilitation Act allows individuals with disabilities to receive services in relation to their employment. They may receive rehabilitation to help maintain employment.

Section 504 is an amendment to the Rehabiliation Act which says any program or activity receiving federal assistance may not discriminate against individuals with disabilities on the basis of their disability.

For students seeking to work, at age 16, they may receive some of these services to help find a job, receive job training and work evaluations. This also connects to one of IDEA's four goals: economic self-sufficiency.

In 1982, the Board of Education v. Rowley, involved a student, Amy Rowley, and whether or not she should receive additional services to help with her hearing loss. Rowley already had accomodations, including a special tutor, hearing aids, and speech therapy. Rowley's parents wanted her to also have an interpreter, but the school refused.

The Supreme Court upheld this decision under the belief that IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), through Congress's interpretation, needed only to provide "equal access," and nothing more.

This decision affected the extent to which individuals who were under IDEA's protection could receive accomodations and services and how far they may try to progress in their education.

Special education keeps improving and becoming more inclusive. Schools are being challenged to uphold IDEA to its fullest extent.

Most decisions in special education are determined by the school and the parents of a student with a disability. Now that inclusion is on the front of the line, I believe students without disabilities are the next to help or support their peers with disabilities.

I think this will be done through including educational courses or creating an organization in which students without disabilities can improve their knowledge to help create a more inclusive, understanding, empathetic space for their peers. Inclusion would be created through student agency rather than just parent and school.