Special Education at 30
Dreams, Realities, and Possibilities
The federal special education law, known today as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, will be 30 years old this week. We have much to celebrate.
On Dec. 2, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, or EHA, known commonly then as Public Law 94-142. This landmark legislation evolved from the need to overhaul how we educated children with disabilities in America. It did just that.
Why, one may ask, did we need such a law? Didn’t public schools start in Colonial America? Didn’t we educate our young people? Yes, but Congress found that many students with disabilities were being excluded from schools, or were not being educated well. The courts got involved. Emotions ran high. Debate ensued. The movement...
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