Five Key Events Impacting Special Education

By AndersonAZA

  • 1972 – Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia

    The court ruled that the District of Columbia public schools could not exclude students with disabilities from a free public education.

  • 1975 – Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA, Public Law 94-142)

    Congress passed this landmark law guaranteeing a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to all children with disabilities.

  • 1990 – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    The EAHCA was renamed and expanded as IDEA.

  • 2004 – Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA)

    IDEA was reauthorized again to align with the No Child Left Behind Act.

  • 2009 – Forest Grove School District v. T.A.

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parents could be reimbursed for private school tuition if the public school failed to provide FAPE—even if the student had never received special education in the public system.