The Legal History of Special Education

Abstract

Children and youth with disabilities have historically received unequal treatment in the public education system. In the early 20th century, the enactment of compulsory attendance laws in the states began to change the educational opportunities for these students. Opportunities for admittance to public schools were greater, but many students nevertheless did not receive an effective or appropriate education. Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, parents and advocates for students with disabilities began to use the courts in an attempt to force states to provide an equal educational opportunity for these students. These efforts were very successful and eventually led to the passage of federal legislation to ensure these rights. The purpose of this article is to examine the legal history of special education. We will examine these early efforts to ensure a free appropriate education for students with disabilities up to and including the enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997.

Knowledge and Perceptions of Students with Disabilities in Regard to a Resource Room in a Private School

“…The tenth amendment delegates the responsibility of public education to the states (Yell, Rogers & Lodge Rogers, 1998). As a result, differing ideology and treatments of students with disabilities has occurred throughout history.…”

“…It became common and acceptable practice to segregate and isolate these students. National attention was focused on students with disabilities in the early 20 th century with the first White House Conference on Children in 1910 (Yell et al, 1998). This national focus shifted students with disabilities from isolation in institutions to segregating them within the public schools (Winzer, 1993).…”

“…Despite the attendance laws, courts often upheld the exclusion of students with disabilities (Yell et al, 1998). As many as 5 million students with disabilities were still not attending public schools as late as 1940 (Winzer, 1993).…”

“…In the 1920"s and 1930"s special classes were designed for students struggling to keep up (Friend & Bursuck, 2006). According to Yell et al (1998) the majority of states began passing laws requiring the education of students with disabilities in the 1960"s and 1970"s. Advocates used the precedent set with Brown v.…”

“…Board of Education to argue that students with disabilities had the same rights, yet were being treated differently and were not given an education equal to that of students without disabilities (Yell et al, 1998 (Gartner & Lipsky, 1987). The idea of equal opportunity in education was not applied to students with disabilities until sixteen years after the Brown decision (Yell et al, 1998).…”