A brief history of special education.

1. Edward Blea
SPE/514
November 3, 2014
Marilyn Rodgers

2. Special Education has come along way providing
services to our students. This presentation will
go over the history of Special Education and the
Legislation that helped mold it.

3.  In 1890, Louisiana passed a statute called the
Separate Car Act declaring that all rail companies
carrying passengers in Louisiana must provide
separate but equal accommodations for white and
non-white passengers.
 This was challenged but was upheld by the US
Supreme Court. This established the separate but
equal doctrine.
 Although this is not connected directly to
education this court case had influence on
educational policy for many years.
(Daigle, 2011).

4.  These two court cases show how hard it was
for students with disabilities to get an
education.
 Basically they stated that if you were weak of
mind or if your disability was not visually
pleasing to people the school could deny the
student entry to the school.
(Daigle, 2011)

5.  This court case challenged the separate but
equal policies when it came to education for
African American children.
 1954 The US Supreme Court unanimously
stated that the separate but equal doctrine had
no place in education and that all children are
entitled to an education on equal terms
provided by the state.
 This opened the door for students with
disabilities to bring their own legal cases.
(Daigle, 2011)

6.  Case was in 1971 and contested a law that
specifically allowed public schools to deny services
to children “who have not attained a mental age of
five years.”
 A consent decree was established with the state.
 Gave full access to a free public education to
children with mental retardation up to the age of
21.
 Also established the standard of appropriateness.
This was a preference for the least restrictive
placement for the child.
(Martin, Martin, & Terman, 1996, p. 28)

7.  1972 Seven children between the age of 8-16 with a
variety of mental and behavior disabilities brought
suit against the District of Columbia public schools
because students were refused enrollment and
even expelled because of their disability.
 The ruling stated that Children with disabilities
had a right to equal public education in a form that
is meaningful for them. Also if there is a change in
status the student is entitled to full procedural
protections.
(Martin, Martin, & Terman, 1996, p. 28)

8.  Provided that any recipient of federal
assistance, including state and local agencies,
must end discrimination in offering services to
persons with disabilities. (1973)
 In 1990 Congressed passed the Americans with
Disabilities Act which expanded the rights of
people with disabilities.
(Martin, Martin, & Terman, 1996, p. 29)

9.  This act gave all student with disabilities to
receive a free and appropriate public
education.
 Provides a funding mechanism to help with
cost of offering different programs.
(Martin, Martin, & Terman, 1996, p. 29)

10.  Expanded on the 1975 Education for all Handicapped
Children Act.
 Gets parents involved in the process of evaluation for
their child. Also allows parents input during the
process.
 Input on Indivdual Educational Program (IEP) for the
student.
 An IEP can only be changed by the IEP committee.
Parent must agree to change.
 Least Restrictive Enviroment- When appropriate a
disabled child must be educated in a regular
classroom.
 Assistive Technology
(Martin, Martin, & Terman, 1996, p. 31-35)

11. As you can see Special Education has come along
way. These different acts allow the opportunity
for students with disabilities to get a free and
appropriate public education.

12. Daigle, B. (2011, May 21). History of Special Education [Video file]. Retrieved from
Watchknowlearn website:
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=31026&CategoryID=1592
Martin, E. W., Martin, R., & Terman, D. L. (1996, Spring). The Legislative and Litigation
History of Special Education. The Future of Children Special Education for Students with
Disabilities, 6(1), 25-39.
Retrieved from https://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/06_0
1_01.pdf