The Legal Foundation For Special Education Litigation History Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Court Rulings Pl The Education for all Handicapped Children Act Pl The Education of the Handicapped Act IDEA & Amendments of 1997 ADA

Litigation History Special education litigation began to appear in the 1960’s. By 1974, over 36 “right to education” lawsuits were filed in 25 states

Exclusion/School Attendance Watson v. City of Cambridge 1919 Beattie v. State Board of Education 1954 Brown v. Board of Education 1972 Mills v. Board of Education 1972 Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 1984 School Committee of Town of Burlington v. Massachusetts Department of Education 1988 Honig v. Doe

Rights/Services 1967 Hobson v. Hanson 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent 1977 Halderman v. Pennhurst 1979 Larry P. v. Riles 1980 PASE (Parents Action on Special Education v. Hannon 1984 Irving Independent School District v. Tatro 1991 Christi Greer v. Rome

Litigation Rights & Services Before –1967 Hobson v. Hanson –1969 Tinker v. Des Moines –1970 Diana v. BOE Post –1979 Larry P. v. Riles –1980 PASE v. Hannon –1982 BOE v. Rowley –1984 Irving v. Tatro

Pl Education for all Handicapped Children Act (1975) Provided federal funding FAPE LRE Procedural safeguards Non-discriminatory evaluation IEP

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 1990 Handicap changed to disability Person first language Added TBI & Autism categories Transition services Address assistive technology & services

IDEA ‘97 Amendments FAPE Nondiscriminatory Evaluation IEP LRE Discipline Related Services Parents Rights Additions/Changes from IDEA 1990 General ed. teacher added to IEP team Must address communication, VI requiring Braille Offer mediation Discipline changes

LRE & Daniel R.R. Programming issues Modifications available?? Modifications required Modification=benefits Negative impact for students or others General education interaction Individual issues Education benefits in gen. ed. vs. spec. ed. Nonacademic benefits Cost of supplementary aids to support in gen. ed.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990 Expanded 504 into private sector Public facilities must be accessible TDD services Criticized due to expansiveness

IEP Contents Student’s present level of performance Annual goals and short term objectives Where? Who? Provides Services Starting date & duration of services Extent of participation in general education Explanation of time not in general ed. Evaluation plan for objectives Transition plan by age 14

Section 504 Anti-discrimination statute Violations investigated by OCR Funding pulled for non-compliance Definition of impairment very global May qualify under Sec. 504 but not qualify for special education