Selected Federal Statutes
P.L. 89-10, The Elementary and Secondary Education Acts of 1965.
Provided a comprehensive plan for re-addressing the inequality of educational opportunity for economically underprivileged children. It became the statutory basis upon which early special education legislation was drafted.
P.L. 89-313, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1965.
Authorized grants to state institutions and state-operated schools devoted to the education of children with disabilities. It was the first federal grant program specifically targeted for children and youth with disabilities.
P.L. 89-750, The Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments of 1966.
This law amended the Title VI of P.L. 89-10 and established the first federal grant program for the education of children and youth with disabilities at the local school level, rather than at state-operated schools or institutions. It established the Bureau of Education of the Handicapped (BEH) and the National Advisory Council (now called the National Council on Disability).
P.L. 91-230, The Education of the Handicapped Act of 1970.
This law amended Title VI of P.L. 89-750 and established a core grant program for local educational agencies. This program is known as Part B. This law also authorized a number of discretionary programs.
P.L. 93-112, The Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
This law provides a comprehensive plan for providing rehabilitation services to all individuals, regardless of the severity of their disability. It also provided for civil rights enforcement under Section 504. This law was amended by P.L 98-221 in 1983, and by P.L. 99-506 in 1986.
* Adapted from: DeStefano and Snauwaert (1989), with permission, National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities.
P.L. 93-380, The Education Amendments of 1974.
These amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act contained two important laws. One is the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1974. This law was the first to mention the provision of an appropriate education for all children with disabilities. It also re-authorized the discretionary programs. The second important law, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, often called the Buckley Amendment, gives parents and students under the age of 18, and students age 18 and over, the right to examine records kept in the student's personal file.
P.L. 94-142, The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975.
This law mandates a free appropriate public education for all children with disabilities, ensures due process rights, mandates education in the least restrictive environment, and mandates Individualized Education Programs, among other things. It is the core of federal funding for special education.
P.L. 98-199, The Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1983.
This law re-authorized the discretionary programs, including the establishment of services to facilitate the transition from school to work for youths with disabilities through research and demonstration projects; the establishment of parent training and information centers; and funding for demonstration projects and research in early intervention and early childhood special education.
P.L. 98-524, The Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984.
This law authorized funds to support vocational education programs to include youths with disabilities. The law stated that individuals who are members of special populations must be provided with equal access to recruitment, enrollment, and placement activities in vocational education.
P.L. 99-372 The Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986.
This law provides for reasonable attorney's fees and costs to parents and guardians who prevail in administrative hearings or court when there is a dispute with a school system concerning their child's right to a free appropriate special education and related services.
P.L. 99-457, The Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986
This law mandates services for preschoolers with disabilities and established the Part H program to assist states in the development of a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and statewide system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers (birth to age 3). This law also re-authorized the discretionary programs and expanded transition programs.
P.L. 100-407, The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988.
The primary purpose of this law is to assist states in developing comprehensive, consumer-responsive programs of technology-related assistance and to extend the availability of technology to individuals with disabilities to their families. Assistive technology device is broadly defined in the law to give the states flexibility in the programs to be developed. Assistive technology services under this law include 8 activities related to developing consumer-responsive services with federal funds.
P.L. 101-127, The Children with Disabilities Temporary Care Reauthorization Act of 1989.
This law is actually a part of a large federal law, the Children's Justice Act, P.L. 99-401. Title II of this law includes provisions to fund temporary child care (e.g., respite care) for children who have disability or chronic illness and crisis nurseries for children at risk of abuse or neglect. In 1989, P. L. 101-127 extended and expanded this program for two years and included an increase in funding for these programs from $5 million to $20 million in 1990 and 1991. By July, 1990, 87 grants were awarded to states to develop and establish respite care programs and crisis nurseries.
P.L. 101-336, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.|
This law, based on the concepts of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodation, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA is the most significant federal law assuring the full civil rights of all individuals with disabilities.
P.L. 101-392, The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990.
This law amended P.L. 98-524 for the purpose of making the United States more competitive in the world economy. This law is closely interwoven with the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 94-142) toward guaranteeing full vocational education opportunity for youth with disabilities.
P.L. 101-476, The Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990.
This law changed the name of EHA to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This law re-authorized and expanded the discretionary programs, mandated transition services and assistive technology services to be included in a child's or youth's IEP, and added autism and traumatic brain injury to the list of categories of children and youth eligible for special education and related services.
P.L. 101-496, The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1990.
This law authorizes grants to support the planning, coordination, and delivery of specialized services to persons with developmental disabilities. In addition, this law provides funding for the operation of state protection and advocacy systems for persons with developmental disabilities. The original law was enacted in 1963 by P.L. 88-164. In 1987, P.L. 100-146 significantly expanded the Act to include persons with mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy.
