Special Education Legislation and Policy in the United States

Special education services have evolved significantly since the early attempts in 1970s at developing and codifying laws to ensure that all students involving students with disabilities had opportunities to receive an appropriate education. Teachers in general and special education classrooms, school administers, families, policy makers, and other relevant stakeholders all worked collaboratively on improving the educational rights of children with special needs over the past decades. Special education laws and policies have been evaluated consistently in order to seek high-qualified educational practices to help children with disabilities. A more inclusive classroom structure allows such students to learn in the general classrooms alongside with their typically developing peers. This article traces the specific changes of legislation from Public Law 94-142 to the Every Student Succeeds Act. The article also summarizes the impacts of each law implementation for students with disabilities.