Special Education and the Law for Parents

Landmark Cases in Special Education

The first federal laws designed to assist individuals with disabilities date back to the early days of the nation. In 1798, the Fifth Congress passed the first federal law concerned with the care of persons with disabilities (Braddock, 1987; cited in NICHCY, 1997). This law authorized a Maine Hospital Service to provide medical services to sick and disabled seamen. By 1912, this service became known as Public Health Service. However, prior to World War II, there were relatively few federal laws authorizing special benefits for persons with disabilities. Those that existed were intended to address the needs of war veterans with service-connected disabilities. This meant that, for most of our nation's history, schools were allowed to exclude-and often did exclude-certain children, especially those with disabilities.

 

This section presents an overview of some of the most historical court cases in special education in their order of occurrence.  It can be accessed only by members of The National Association of Parents with Children in Special Education (NAPCSE).  If you are not a member of NAPCSE, and would like to join, click here to register. Members of NAPCSE, please log in above (member login and password) to activate these, and all other websites, in our database. 

 

 

Hobson v. Hansen (1967)

 

PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1972)

 

Wyatt v. Stickney (1972)

 

Guadalupe v. Tempe Elementary School (1972)

 

Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia (1972)

 

PASE (Parents in Action on Special Education) v. Joseph P. Hannon (1980)

 

Luke S. and Hans S. v. Nix et al. (1982)

 

Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson School District v. Rowley (1982)

 

Jose P. v. Ambach (1983)

 

Larry P. v. Riles (1984)

 

Georgia State Conference of Branches of NAACP v. State of Georgia (1984)

 

Daniel R. R. v. State Board of Education (1989)

 

Gerstmeyer v. Howard County Public Schools (1994)