This presentation discusses some of the litigation most commonly associated with special education

1. History, Laws, and Trends in
Early Childhood Special
Education

2. Special Education History

Advocates in the 1960’s and 1970’s sought a federal
role in making sure that children with special needs
would receive a free and appropriate public education
(FAPE).

Some state laws were put in place throughout the
1960’s and early 70’s but it was clear that many students
were not receiving the services they should be. Federal
regulations and laws would need to be put in place.

3. History Continued

Two important cases early on for Special Education
were the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded
Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1971
and Mills v. Board of Education of the District of
Columbia the following year

The courts ruled that, “the responsibility of States and
local school districts to educate individuals with
disabilities is derived from the equal protection clause
of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States
Constitution” (US Department of Education, 1995a, p.
1).

4. Was It Working?

These laws were just the beginning for Special
Education advocates. Many students were still
not receiving proper services.

Now we will take a look at some other
important laws that have changed early
childhood special education services throughout
the years.

5. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Section 504 of this act guarantees equal opportunities in
education and employment for all people with
disabilities.

This law said that students with disabilities should be
allowed to receive a free appropriate public education,
be included with non-disabled peers as much as
possible, and put procedural safeguards in place to give
parents a say on decisions regarding the placement of
their children.

This law put in place specific guidelines for Special
Education services that are still used today.

6. Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (ADA)

The problem with The Rehabilitation Act of
1973 was there was no monitoring or funding
for what was put in place so unfortunately the
law was mostly ignored for over 15 years.

It wasn’t until the ADA of 1990 that special
education rights for people with disabilities really
began to take shape.

7. ADA continued

ADA of 1990 is a civil rights law that prevents
discrimination against disability.

Since The Rehabilitation Act and the ADA
provide detailed rights for parents that feel their
child has not received proper education, these
two laws are most commonly the ones used for
litigation in special education during recent
years.

8. Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA)

Reauthorized and revised several times since it was first
known as the Education for All Handicapped Children
Act of 1975.

Renamed IDEA in 1990 when more focus was placed
on the individual and their needs instead of the fact
they have a disability.

This act required that an Individualized Education Plan
or IEP must be in place for each student determined to
need special education services because of their
disability.

9. Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act of 2004 (IDEA)

This law mandates accountability and excellence in education for
students with special needs.

This particular update of IDEA made changes to the IEP
process such as what is in the IEP and the process of IEP
meetings for revision and reviews.

Also there were changes in procedural safeguards notice only
needing to be distributed once per year, with parents having two
years to exercise due process rights.

10. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

This law has shaped a lot of what special education and
all education practices are currently in schools today.

Defines standards based reform for all students.
Students with disabilities are expected to show yearly
progress and to have their scores counted the same as
regular students.

Opinions vary widely on this act and if it has positive or
negative effects on students with special needs.

11. Positives and Negatives

Positives include the findings that more students with
disabilities are graduating, the thought that students are
achieving more because of higher expectations, and
students are more included in regular education than
ever before.

Negatives may be that students with disabilities are not
getting enough individualized education met and that
since some students really are not currently on their
grade level ability that these standardized tests shouldn’t
be the same as non-disabled peers standardized tests.

12. Trends

There are several evolving trends of early childhood
special education. These include monitoring yearly
progress, balancing individualized education for
students with special needs along with preparation for
standardized testing, and focusing on reading programs
and targets such as the third grade reading guarantee.

Students with special needs must be placed in their
Least Restrictive Environment. This is the school
setting that includes being in a regular education
environment as much as their disability will allow.

13. Special Education Summary

In closing, it is important for educators to keep
up with the constant evolution of special
education.

New laws and changes may be scary for an
educator but it is important to remember that
we must do what is best for the student and
meeting their needs.