United States Legislation

The Vocational Rehabilitation Act is considered the precursor to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Section 504 refers specifically to schools, and indicates "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance . . ." Further, this act defines "appropriate education," a term which will continue to be used. It may also be referred to as FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education).

Appropriate education, as defined by section 504, includes :

• "education services designed to meet the individual education needs of students with disabilities as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met;

• the education of each student with a disability with nondisabled students, to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the student with a disability;

• evaluation and placement procedures established to guard against misclassification or inappropriate placement of students, and a periodic reevaluation of students who have been provided special education or related services." (US Department of Education)

This includes classroom accommodations as well as related services (speech therapy, physical therapy, etc.) are required to be provided by any federally funded school. 

Section 504 also protects access rights for teachers and staff.

This act is the first to define Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) and Individualized Education Plans (IEP).

Least Restrictive Environment indicates that students with disabilities should, as frequently as possible, be educated in classrooms with their non-disabled peers. Separate classrooms that segregate disabled students, or those which track them with low achieving students, are not legal or appropriate.

Individualized Education plans are designed to support a child's unique needs by assessing their current performance, annual goals, measured progress, and related services. IEP guidelines and formats differ from state to state, but this core content must remain the same. 

This landmark act indicates that disabled people cannot be discriminated against in the workforce or in schools and must be provided with Equal Opportunity to services. This is a broad civil rights act that applies to all areas including education. 

The original 1990 form of this law introduced transition services for older teen students, allowing them to build workforce skills. Related services were expanded to include social work and rehabilitation. Importantly, this act indicated that student information would be confidential. Further, it entitles a student to Due Process if their educational needs are not being met by their school, in which the institution must prove they are providing all necessary services for FAPE. 

Relevantly, this act also included a Bilingual Education Program, indicating intersectionality between disabled students and language learning.

The 1997 amendment established that students with disabilities would take standardized tests. The subject of appropriate assessment for disabled students is ongoing, and you can read more about it here.  Further, the amendment made the general education teacher part of the IEP team, setting precedent that it is every teacher's responsibility to make classroom acommodations. Finally, this act indicated continuation of services if a student was suspended or expelled. This indicates that acommodations are a right and are not contingent on behavior or performance.

This act increased IDEA funding and raised the standards for special education certified teachers. 

This act also includes Response to Intervention (RTI) which includes evidence based practices including scaffolding learning as follows:

• Tier 1 – Level of instruction found in general education classrooms

• Tier 2 – More deliberate, direct and explicit in how students are taught and how feedback is modeled and details provided

• Tier 3 – Intensive instruction, including the introduction of a specialist with specific expertise to weigh in on the situation

Students are continually assessed and methods are adjusted accordingly with the goal of students succeeding at grade level. 

This law states that students with intellectual disabilities may be elligible for a Pell Grant, work study, or other benefits even without a traditional high school diploma. This requirement can be waived by the Secretary of Education given that the student is enrolled in an alternative educational option, such as part time schooling, transitional services, or employment preparation. 

This act allows for more flexibility with standardized testing and assessments, in which up to 1% of students can receive an alternative assessment. Further, it requires bullying prevention plans in order to protect disabled students from social discrimination.