This document provides an overview of special education in the United States, including key legislation and court cases. It discusses how individuals with disabilities were historically mistreated and left to die. It then outlines the growth of special education services over time, mandated by laws like the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. The document defines important terms and concepts in special education, describes the components and requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and analyzes several landmark court cases that expanded the rights of students with disabilities to receive appropriate public education.

1. CHAPTER 9–SPECIAL SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
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This book is protected under the Copyright Act of 1976. Uncited Sources,
Violators will be prosecuted. Courtesy, National FORUM Journals
CHAPTER 9
SPECIAL SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
KEY POINTS
1. Persons with disabilities were killed or left to die during the Greek empire.
2. The era of education began when Itard tried to work with Victor in 1799.
3. More than four million students with disabilities are served in special
education programs.
4. The largest group of students served in special education are those
classified as learning disabled.
5. Public Law 99-142 was the key legislation that mandates current services
to children with disabilities.
6. Public Law 99-457 mandates schools to provide services to children with
disabilities of ages 3-5.
7. P.L. 94-142 requires schools to provide services to children with
disabilities in regular classrooms as much as possible.
8. PARC vs. Pennsylvania was the first landmark case specifically dealing
with disabled children that resulted in expanded services.
9. More states and school districts are beginning to provide services for
children with disabilities using a noncategorical approach.
10. The majority of students with disabilities are served in resource rooms.
Copyright © 2005
William Kritsonis
All Rights Reserved / Forever

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CHAPTER 9–SPECIAL SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
A. OVERVIEW
This chapter provides students with an overview of special education.
Legislation and litigation that affect special education are discussed, as well as
the ideology, characteristics, and definitions of the major disabilities. Also
discussed are methods of serving these children in public schools.
B. KEY TERMS–DEFINITIONS
ACCOMMODATION - assistance in passing regular class subjects.
AT-RISK - children who have not yet been identified as having a disability, but
are experiencing school problems and demonstrate a potential need for special
education services.
AUTISM - a pervasive developmental disorder that appears prior to 30 months
of age and is characterized by impairments of social, intellectual, and
emotional functioning.
CATEGORICAL - category of disabilities/impairments (exceptionalities).
COMMUNICATION DISORDERS - disorders of speech and language that
impair the exchange of information and ideas.
DEAF - a loss of hearing of 90% or greater. Those whose sense of hearing is
nonfunctional to the extent that it interferes with daily functioning and
understanding speech.
DISABILITY - the reduced function or loss of a particular body part or organ
(impairment).
DUE PROCESS - procedural safeguards afforded students, parents, and
teachers that protect individual rights.
EARLY INTERVENTION - special education services given to children from
birth to age 5.
EDUCATIONAL BLINDNESS - an inability to profit from printed material,
even with magnification.
EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS - disorders characterized by
children’s behaviors that are extreme and continuous over time that differ from
social or cultural norms.
EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN - children who function either above or below
the norm and require a specialized program so they can be successful in their
educational placement.

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GIFTED AND TALENTED - demonstrating high attainment in the areas of
academics, leadership, creativity, intellect, and/or visual or performing arts.
HANDICAP - the problems a person with a disability experiences in
interacting with the environment.
HARD OF HEARING - consisting of a severe hearing loss that can be helped
with a hearing aid for the development of speech and language skills.
INCLUSION - educating children with special needs in regular education
classes.
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA) - this act
is the amended version of P.L. 94-142 that was passed in 1997. It provides a
free, appropriate special education and related services; assures the rights of
children with special needs and their parents; assists states to provide for
special education; and assures correctness of testing and evaluation procedures.
IMPAIRMENT - lessened in quality or strength, damaged (disability).
INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP) - individual program of
study mandated by federal and state laws for all students with disabilities in
special education programs.
LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT - educational setting that is closest
to regular education classroom for learners with special needs.
LEGALLY BLIND - a student whose visual acuity is 20/200 or less in the
better eye with best correction, or a restriction in the visual field (peripheral
vision) of 20 degrees or less.
MAINSTREAMING - the practice of integrating students with disabilities into
regular classrooms and programs as much as possible; implementation of the
least restrictive environment.
MENTAL RETARDATION - a condition related to intellectual deficits;
usually defined in terms of limited IQ scores and adaptive behavior. Below-
average capacity of a student to perform in regular school settings.
MULTIPLE DISABILITIES - having a variety of disabilities that together
adversely affect a child’s educational progress.
NONCATEGORICAL - abandons the categories (in special education) and
refers simply to exceptional children as those who require special services of a
substantive nature and degree to assume optimum learning and educational
development.
ORTHOPEDIC - impairments caused by congenital abnormality, or by disease
and other causes such as cerebral palsy and amputations. Examples include:
clubfoot; congenital vertical talus; leg-length; dislocated hip; scoliosis;

4. SCHOOLING (2002)
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arthritis; rheumatoid arthritis; various muscle, brain and spinal cord diseases;
and bone tumors.
OTHER HEALTH IMPAIRMENTS - chronic or acute health problems that
negatively affect a child’s educational progress (heart condition, asthma,
epilepsy, diabetes, etc.).
PARENTAL RIGHTS - right to examine school records, the right to obtain an
independent evaluation, the right to receive prior notice before a change of
program, and the right to disagree with and appeal a decision made by the
school concerning special education services.
P.L. 94-142 - Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Passed in 1975,
this act mandates a free, appropriate public education for all handicapped
children.
RELATED SERVICE - support service needed for a child to benefit from his
educational program.
SEVERE DISABILITIES - disabilities that are extreme and profound.
Individuals with severe disabilities require very specialized special education
programs to benefit from their educational placement.
SPECIAL EDUCATION - specialized programs developed for the education
of children with disabilities.
SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY - a condition where students of
average or above average intelligence have difficulty with academic subjects
and demonstrate a severe discrepancy between their intellectual ability and
academic achievement.
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY - an injury to the brain that results in a
disability or disorder and negatively affects a child’s educational progress.
VISUALLY IMPAIRED - school age children whose vision impairment, even
with correction, adversely affects their educational performance.
C. SOME PRECEDING THOUGHTS
1. How were individuals with disabilities treated prior to 1750?
Prior to the middle 1700s, the plight of the disabled was dismal. During
the period when ancient works were written (the Bible, the Talmud, the
Koran, the Papyrus of Thebes), many individuals with disabilities
frequently were left to die or actually were put to death. The philosophy of
the time was that people unable to take care of themselves should be done
away with. During the next several hundred years, people with disabilities
were used as court fools in addition to most being forced to beg for a

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living. During the Renaissance and Reformation periods, persecution of
individuals with disabilities was even practiced by the religious leaders of
the time who thought the handicapped were filled with Satan. Until the
middle 1700s, people with disabilities were forced to beg, left to die, killed
outright, or chained and put in dungeons.
2. What is the magnitude of special education today?
Educational and support services provided for children with special needs
in public schools are more extensive than ever before.
a. the number of children with special needs who receive special
education and related services have slightly increased;
b. in the year 2002, approximately seven million children with special
needs were receiving special education;
c. the largest categories of children with special needs include speech and
language impairments and specific learning disabilities;
d. most students with special needs spend at least part of their day in
regular education classes;
e. the majority of children with special needs are classified as having mild
disabilities.
3. What are some important laws relating to special education?
a. P.L. 45-186 - 1879 - $10,000 to American Printing House for the blind
to produce Braille materials;
b. P.L. 66-236 - 1920 - made civilians eligible for vocational
rehabilitation that were provided for WWI veterans;
c. P.L. 80-617 - 1948 - eliminated discrimination in hiring people with
physical impairments;
d. P.L. 83-531 - 1954 - provided funds for education research in the area
of mental retardation;
e. P.L. 85-926 - 1958 - provided funds for universities to prepare teachers
for mentally retarded children (National Defense Education Act);
f. P.L. 88-164 - 1963 - provided funds to prepare special education
teachers for all types of students with disabilities (Mental Retardation
Facility and Community Center Construction Act);
g. P.L. 89-10 - 1965 - provided funds to schools to assist the
disadvantaged and disabled (Elementary and Secondary Education
Act);

6. SCHOOLING (2002)
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h. P.L. 89-36 - 1965 - created the National Institute for the Deaf;
i. P.L. 91-61 - 1969 - established National Center on Educational Media
and Materials for the Individuals with Disabilities;
k. P.L. 91-205 - 1970 - required buildings constructed with federal funds
to be accessible to the people with physical impairments;
l. P.L. 93-112 - 1973 - assured rights of people with disabilities in
employment and educational institutions (Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act);
m. P.L. 93-380 - 1975 - provided money for programs for gifted and
talented students (Education Amendments);
n. P.L. 98-199 - 1983 - mandated that states collect data on the number of
students with disabilities being served, extending services to include
transition to adulthood, and gave money to states for early intervention
programs (Amendments to the Education of the Handicapped Act);
o. P.L. 99-457 - 1986 - mandated that states provide programs for all 3-5
year old children with special needs and included grants for states to
begin programs for birth-2 infants and their families (Education for the
Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986);
p. P.L. 101-336 - 1990 - civil rights protection against discrimination to
individuals with disabilities (Americans with Disabilities Act);
q. P.L. 101-476 - 1990 - renamed the EHA. This act added autism and
traumatic brain injury as new exceptionalities, required a statement of
transition services on the IEP by age 16, and added rehabilitation
counseling and social work services as related services (Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act);
r. P.L. 105-17 - 1997 - increased parent and teacher regular education
participation in decision making and IEP development, included
students with disabilities in the general education curriculum and state
assessment, and provided for discipline procedures to be used with
students with disabilities (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
of 1997).
4. What are the key components of IDEA?
Key Components of IDEA
a. A requirement that children with special needs be educated in the least
restrictive environment. This mandates that children with special needs
be educated with their non-disabled peers as much of the time as

7. CHAPTER 9–SPECIAL SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
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possible. Most people interpret the least restrictive environment
concept to mean mainstreaming.
b. A requirement that every child with a disability have an individual
education program (IEP) and access to free, appropriate education.
c. P.L. 94-142 also defined the special needs population: The act states
that children with disabilities are those evaluated as being “mentally
retarded, hard of hearing, deaf, speech/language impaired, visually
impaired, seriously emotionally/behaviorally disturbed, orthopedically
impaired, other health impaired, deaf-blind, multiple disabilities, or as
having specific learning disabilities, and because of these disabilities
need special education and related services.”
d. A requirement for non-discriminatory assessment.
e. Assurance of due process for parents and children.
f. A requirement that students with disabilities receive related services
and assistive technology when these services are required to enable a
child to benefit from special education.
g. Assurance of parent and student participation and shared decision making.
h. Inclusion of special education programs for infants and toddlers with
special needs birth-age 5.
i. Federal funding of special education.
j. Tuition reimbursement for parents whose children with special needs
must be placed in private schools.
5. What court cases are considered landmarks in special education?
a. Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (1954, Kansas) - established
the right of all children to an equal opportunity and protection for an
education.
b. Hansen vs. Hobson (1967, Washington, DC) - tracking systems where
children were placed into either regular or special education classes
according to intelligence test scores discriminated against African
Americans and poor children.
c. Diana vs. State Board of Education (1970, California) - ruled that
minority children should be tested in their native language.
d. Mills vs. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972, District
of Columbia) - extended rights to education beyond the mentally
retarded category to all children with special needs and specifically

8. SCHOOLING (2002)
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indicated that the poor could not be subject to discrimination; right to a
“constructive education” including appropriate specialized instruction.
e. Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens vs. the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania (1972, Pennsylvania) - a class-action law suit that
firmly established the right to free public education for all children
with mental retardation; child-find activities will be done.
f. Wyatt vs. Stickney (1972, Alabama) - ruled that individuals in state
institutions have the right to appropriate treatment within those
institutions.
g. Armstrong vs. Kline (1979, Pennsylvania) - ruled that some children
with severe disabilities may legitimately require extended-year
programming. Did not mandate summer programming but indicated
that the parents were correct: each child’s IEP should determine the
length of the child’s school year.
h. Larry P. vs. Riles (1979, California) - court decision ordered that IQ
tests could not be used as the sole basis for placing children into special
education classes.
i. Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District vs.
Rowley (1982, New York) - first 94-142 case to be ruled on by the
Supreme Court. The court ruled that the purpose of 94-142 was to
guarantee access to public education, not equality of education
opportunity.
j. Board of Education of Hudson Central School District vs. Rowley
(1982, New York) - school officials may decide whether the additional
costs of “supportive services” are worthwhile in terms of the
educational benefit for the child. Rowley was the first case ruled on by
the U.S. Supreme Court that dealt with P.L. 94-142.
k. Abrahamson vs. Hershman (1983, Massachusetts) - required the school
district to pay for the private placement in a residential school for a
child with multiple disabilities.
l. Department of Education vs. Katherine (1984, Hawaii) - court ruled
that services being provided in a homebound setting for a child with
multiple health impairments did not meet the least restrictive setting
requirement of P.L. 94-142; court was ordered to move the child to an
integrated school setting with medical support services.

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m. Irving Independent School District vs. Tatro (1984, Texas) - U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that catheterization was a legitimate related
service for a child with physical disabilities.
n. Smith vs. Robinson (1984, Rhode Island) - ordered the school district to
reimburse the parents’ attorney fees for placement of a child with
severe disabilities in a residential program.
o. Cleburne vs. Cleburne Independent Living Center (1985, Texas) - U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that cities cannot use various zoning laws to
prevent the establishment of a group home for persons with mental
retardation.
p. Honig vs. Doe (1988, California) - children with disabilities cannot be
excluded from school for any inappropriate misbehavior that is
disability-related. Educational services can cease if the inappropriate
misbehavior is not disability related.
q. Timothy W. vs. Rochester School District (1989, New Hampshire) - an
interpretation of P.L. 94-142 requiring all children with disabilities be
provided with a free, appropriate public education, unconditionally and
without exception.
6. How did the Civil Rights Movement affect special education?
Following litigated victories by minorities, parents of children with special
needs decided to pursue equity through the courts and legislative lobbying.
7. What are the categories used to classify children with special needs
using the traditional classification system?
a. Autism;
b. Deaf-Blind;
c. Emotional Disturbance/Behavior Disorders;
d. Hearing Impairments;
e. Mental Retardation;
f. Multiple Disabilities;
g. Orthopedic Impairments;
h. Other Health Impairments;
i. Physical Impairments;
j. Specific Learning Disabilities;
k. Speech and Language Impairments;

10. SCHOOLING (2002)
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l. Traumatic Brain Injury;
m. Visual Impairments/Blind.
8. What service options were available using the traditional service
delivery system?
Categorical Grouping - based on categories of disabilities: Self-
Contained Classes - segregated from the rest of the students in a separate
room with one teacher.
Special Schools - a more blatant form of segregation; students with special
needs were educated in a separate facility.
Institutional Settings - an early method of intervention.
9. What options should be available along a continuum of services
model?
Requires schools to provide appropriate educational services on an
individual basis. As a result, schools must be prepared to provide
educational services in a variety of settings, with the placement decision of
each child depending on unique characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses.
Listed Least Restricted to Most Restricted
Level I - full-time regular classroom
Level II - full-time regular classroom with consultation
Level III - full-time regular classroom with supplementary instruction
Level IV - part-time special class (resource room)
Level V - full-time special class (self contained room)
Level VI - special schools within the public school system
Level VII - homebound
Level VIII - hospital or residential setting
10. Some related facts are:
a. persons with disabilities were killed or left to die during the Spartan
empire;
b. the era of education began when Itard tried to work with Victor in 1799;

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c. the largest group of students served in special education are those
classified with speech and language impairment followed by specific
learning disabilities;
d. public Law 94-142 was the key legislation that mandates current
services to children with disabilities;
e. Public Law 99-457 mandates schools to provide services to children
with disabilities ages 3-5 and gives incentives to states to have
programs for infants and toddlers birth-2;
f. Public Law 94-142 requires schools to provide services to children
with disabilities in regular classrooms as much as possible (least
restrictive environment);
g. PARC vs. Pennsylvania was the first landmark case specifically dealing
with children with disabilities that resulted in expanded services;
h. states and school districts are providing services to children with
disabilities using a noncategorical approach;
i. the majority of students with disabilities are served in the regular
classroom followed by the resource room.
11. Who serves on the IEP team?
a. Parents, guardian, or surrogate parent of the child;
b. at least one regular education teacher of the child;
c. at least one special education teacher (provider) of the child;
d. a representative of the local education agency;
e. an individual who can interpret the evaluation results;
f. any individual at the discretion of the parent or school;
g. the student, if appropriate, must be invited.
12. What are the components of an IEP?
a. a statement of the child’s educational performance;
b. measurable annual goals and objectives;
c. a statement of services (including special education and related services)
provided for the child and the school personnel responsible for each;
d. a statement of program modifications/accommodations;
e. a statement of the extent that the child will participate with non-disabled
children;

12. SCHOOLING (2002)
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f. a statement regarding state assessment with respect to needed
modifications and type of assessment;
g. the projected date for the initiation of all services and the frequency,
location, and duration of those services;
h. a statement of how annual goals will be measured and how parents will
be informed of this progress;
i. a statement regarding transitional services at age 14 when appropriate;
otherwise at age 16.
D. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES
1. Why should schools provide special education to students with
disabilities?
Special education has been provided for students with disabilities for most
of the 20th
century; however, the magnitude of special education has grown
dramatically since the 1950s. As a result of legislation and litigation,
public schools are now required to provide necessary special education for
all children with special needs.
2. Describe the “shared responsibility” between regular educators and
special education teachers regarding students with disabilities.
Special education once was limited to educational services provided for
students with disabilities, primarily mentally retarded students, in a self-
contained classroom by a special education teacher. Regular classroom
teachers rarely saw these students or their teachers. At present, the focus is
to provide educational and therapeutic services to all children with special
needs in an integrated setting. Children with disabilities are educated with
non-disabled students as much of the time as is appropriate. The education
of children with disabilities has become a shared responsibility among
special education personnel, regular classroom teachers, and school
support personnel.
3. What are the components of IDEA?
IDEA (1990 Amendments) is the restructuring of P.L. 94-142. It ensures
that every student with disabilities receives a free, appropriate public
education in the least restrictive environment.
4. What should regular education teachers reflect upon relative to
inclusion?
a. Are you willing to have age-appropriate students with disabilities in
your class?

13. CHAPTER 9–SPECIAL SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
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b. Do you modify your curriculum, instructional methods, and materials to
meet the diverse needs of students in your class?
c. Are you open to suggestions and modifications in your teaching and
classroom management?
d. Are you willing to share your teaching responsibilities with other
professionals?
e. Do you expect disabled students to be as successful in meeting their
own goals as nondisabled students are in meeting theirs?
f. Do you call on students with disabilities as much as you call on other
students in your class?
g. Do you use heterogeneous grouping?
h. Do you use peer tutoring?
i. Do you use adaptive technology and customized software?
j. Have you attended training sessions about responsible inclusion?
Source: Lombardi, T.P. (1994). Responsible inclusion of students with disabilities. Bloomington, IN:
Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. Adapted with permission.
5. Should schools provide the best education as possible to students with
disabilities? Defend your answer.
E. REVIEW ITEMS
True-False
1. In ancient Sparta, individuals with disabilities were often put to death for
no reason other than being disabled.
2. Religious leaders such as Martin Luther and John Calvin have been guilty
of persecuting the disabled.
3. Services for children with special needs have grown slightly during this
century.
4. The number of public school classes for the mentally retarded began to
increase significantly immediately following the Civil War.
5. The “Education of All Handicapped Children Act” can be considered to be
an extension of civil rights legislation.

14. SCHOOLING (2002)
PAGE 243
6. The Council for Exceptional Children has probably been the most
influential lobby group for rights of the disabled.
7. P.L. 94-142 mandates that children with disabilities receive the best
possible education.
8. Due process requirements of P.L. 94-142 mandates that children with
disabilities receive the best possible education.
9. In Armstrong vs. Kline, parents of a child with special needs won the right,
under P.L. 94-142, for their child to receive extended year programming.
10. The Rowley case was the first case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court
dealing with P.L. 94-142.
11. Minority children tend to be over-represented in special education classes.
12. There are two categories of hearing impairment: hard of hearing and deaf.
13. Proponents of the noncategorical model of special education say that
categorical groupings are irrelevant to the educational process.
14. Current trends are toward categorical classification systems.
15. The majority of schools now use the resource room model to provide
special education services.
16. The term accommodation refers to remediation of a student’s basic skills
or assistance in passing regular class subjects.
17. P.L. 99-457 lowers the mandated age for services to one year old.
Multiple Choice
1. The first individual intelligence test was developed by _______.
a. Stanford b. Binet
c. Thomas Stanford & Joseph Bidet d. Juliet Prowse
2. _______ occurred during the 20th
century.
a. the beginning of classes for the emotionally disturbed
b. increase in number of public school classes for the emotionally
disturbed
c. increase in number of residential schools for visually and hearing
impaired children
d. all of the above
3. _______ contributed either directly or indirectly to the improvement of
opportunities for the individuals with disabilities during the 1960s and
1970s.

15. CHAPTER 9–SPECIAL SCHOOLING IN AMERICA
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a. legislation b. litigation c. civil rights movement
d. all of the above
4. P.L. 94-142 was passed in _______.
a. 1975 b. 1976 c. 1977 d. 1978
5. _______ is not a provision of P.L. 94-142.
a. free, appropriate education b. least restrictive environment
c. best possible education d. all of the above
6. Due process guaranties to the parent in P.L. 94-142 include ________.
a. the right to examine school records
b. the right to obtain an independent evaluation
c. the right to prior notice before a change in child’s program
d. all of the above
7. _______ are “related services.”
a. services required to enable a child to benefit from special education
b. counseling services only
c. non-diagnostic medical treatment
d. any beneficial therapeutic or rehabilitative services
8. _______ court case extended the rights of education to all handicapped
children?
a. PARC b. Mill vs. Board of Education of Washington DC
c. Diane vs. State Board of Education d. Armstrong vs. Kline
9. The Rowley case _______.
a. determined that minority children must be tested in their own language
b. established the right of children with disabilities to be provided with
summer schooling when appropriate
c. resulted in state governments acknowledging responsibility to provide
appropriate education to all children
d. was the first case ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court that dealt with
P.L. 94-142
10. The newest category used to classify children with disabilities is _______.
a. specific learning disabilities b. emotionally disturbed
c. seriously emotionally disturbed d. autism
11. Characteristics associated with specific learning disabilities include all of
the following except _______.

16. SCHOOLING (2002)
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a. significantly sub-average intelligence
b. disorders of speech and hearing
c. attention disorders
d. hyperactivity
12. “A deviation from age-appropriate behavior which significantly interferes
with the child’s growth and development and/or the lives of others” is the
definition for _______.
a. specific learning disabilities b. traumatic brain injury
c. psychosis d. behavior disorder
13. The primary reason for moving toward the noncategorical model of special
education services is_______.
a. cost b. intense pressure from parental groups c. P.L. 94-142
d. a general, systematic move toward inclusion of more persons with
disabilities and more services for them
14. The majority of schools educate children with special needs using ______.
a. self-contained classrooms b. resource room model
c. deinstitutionalization d. regular classrooms