Reflecting on 50 Years of IDEA and Civil Rights Progress
50 Years of IDEA: A civil rights milestone.
Note: This blog is part of a two-part series. Be sure to check out the companion piece here and here.
Note: The events described are based on true experiences, but some individuals have been combined into a composite character of Melissa, who symbolizes students with disabilities who were marginalized.
Melissa took one final look in the mirror as her mother called again for her to hurry and get into the car. She joined her older sister already seated and they drove the short distance to Clairemont Elementary School.
Simone ran from the car and joined her friends on the crowded playground. Melissa walked with her mother into the 50-year-old school building and up the gleaming stairs to the main office.
The clerk looked up from her paper-strewn desk, “Good morning, Mrs. Reynolds, how are you today?” Melissa’s mother stiffened herself in preparation for the encounter.
“Good morning, Ms. Ellison. I’m here to register my youngest daughter for kindergarten.”
The clerk rose from her desk and peered over the counter. Melissa, still holding her mother’s hand, raised her head and smiled. The new outfit and perfectly brushed hair could not hide Melissa’s Down syndrome.
The clerk stepped back and turned to walk to the principal’s office. Mr. Sanderson appeared in the doorway, and the clerk whispered into his ear while pointing in Mrs. Reynold’s direction.
He walked around the counter and spoke quietly: “Mrs. Reynolds, I know you’re aware that we can’t enroll your daughter here—she needs a different school. Your daughter has needs that we can’t meet.”
Melissa could feel her mother’s grip tighten as tears filled her eyes. “My daughter belongs here, in this school.”
Years later, Melissa would tell this story as she testified before Congress to dismantle the system of discrimination in America’s schools.
Today, her story reminds us how critical strong legal protections remain, especially as we mark 50 years of IDEA.
IDEA and the Push for Inclusive Education
Today, the mandate to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment with their nondisabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate is due to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, originally named the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, signed in 1975.
Although discrimination based on race and disability looks different in schools, both show just how powerful positive social interactions can be. When students feel included and connected, that sense of belonging supports their well-being and carries with them well into adulthood.
To understand why IDEA’s protections matter so deeply, we need to look back at the movement that paved the way.
Civil Rights Foundations: From Brown v. Board to Disability Rights
“To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.” — Supreme Court, Brown v. Board of Education
It is disturbingly easy to substitute race with disability in this landmark 1954 decision.
The Court ruled that it was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment for educational institutions to segregate students by race, ending the precedent of “separate but equal.” Although students were indeed separate, the educational institutions were far from equal.
Prior to the Brown decision, there were attempts throughout the nation to integrate schools—elementary, high school and higher education—and corresponding court cases on the local level. Five such cases were consolidated by the Supreme Court under Brown.
Due to an insufficient amount of state taxes going toward schools educating African American students, schools were woefully ill-equipped and under-resourced.
Importantly, studies conducted by Dr. Kenneth B. Clark and Dr. Mamie Clark were entered into the Brown case, showing segregation’s devastating impact on African American children’s psychological development via internalized racism.
Brown became a catalyst, setting the stage for other civil rights protections — including those that eventually shaped IDEA.
Brown set the stage for subsequent civil rights laws, impacting areas like the workplace, voting rights, gender equality, English language learners, and the rights of adults and students with disabilities.
Understanding IDEA: What the Law Provides
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is a mandate to provide children and youth with disabilities a free and appropriate public education.
Born from years of marginalization and discrimination, IDEA addresses the areas of early childhood through age 21 (although some states have extended this to the mid-20s in postsecondary transition programs).
Importantly, IDEA provides federal funding to states and territories to help with the cost of special education services and supports.
Unfortunately, the initial goal in 1975 for the federal government to fund 40 percent of the average per-pupil cost for special education has not been met. While funding has increased over the years, it is at less than 15 percent today.
IDEA did not emerge in isolation; it grew out of a long history of exclusion and advocacy.
Before IDEA: Segregation, Institutions, and Exclusion
Similar to the Brown case, individuals with disabilities were not educated in their community public schools alongside their nondisabled peers.
Children with significant disabilities experienced segregation and either stayed at home or were placed in institutions. In such places, children received the basics in terms of shelter, food and clothing. Students were not evaluated for services, and instruction, if any, was minimal.
In 1970, U.S. schools educated one in five children with disabilities, and many states had laws excluding certain students, including children who were deaf or blind, had emotional disturbances or had intellectual disabilities.
Momentum for change grew through protests and legal action, laying the groundwork for IDEA.
The Road to Reform: Section 504 and Disability Rights Activism
Prior to the signing of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act in 1975, protests by members of the disabled community led to the creation of the founding civil rights law protecting people with disabilities, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
This legislation, modeled after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, called for the integration of individuals with disabilities into institutions receiving federal financial assistance and prohibited discrimination based on disability.
Although Section 504 was signed into law in 1973, the nondiscrimination regulations were not implemented. Consequently, in April 1977, disability rights protests were planned across major U.S. cities to push for enforcement.
Individuals with disabilities and caregivers staged a historic sit-in—the longest nonviolent occupation of a federal building in U.S. history, lasting nearly one month.
As a result, the regulations were signed, marking the first time that treatment of individuals with disabilities was viewed through the lens of civil rights instead of a medical or vocational perspective.
Where We Are Now: IDEA in Practice Today
Today, there are over 7 million students receiving special education services in America’s public schools.
Per IDEA, students receive special education services in the least restrictive environment based on the needs documented in their individualized education program (IEP).
The IEP must state the extent to which a student may participate in regular (general) education programs with their nondisabled peers.
While there are settings that are more restrictive than others, students with disabilities now have protections that afford them the right not only to be educated in public schools but also to be offered an IEP reasonably calculated to enable them to make progress appropriate in light of the circumstances.
This expectation of meaningful progress is central to IDEA’s promise.
Students with IEPs are expected to have a challenging and accessible curriculum that shows some form of student growth. When the IEP does not offer educational benefit, a free appropriate public education is being denied.
Carrying the Mandate Forward: A Call to Action
Were it not for outrage, forced integration attempts, and the cries over the harms caused by the marginalization of African Americans and individuals with disabilities, we would not be acknowledging the 50th anniversary of a law created to redress generations of exclusion.
Today, we are charged with carrying this mandate into the future.
What will we do moving forward to ensure the rights of students like Melissa are upheld—50 years after IDEA and beyond?
Additional Resources
The AFT’s special education cadre includes educators from New Mexico to New York. Their expertise ranges from early childhood and elementary school to high school and postsecondary transition planning that incorporates essential life and work skills. Take a moment and sample some of their contributions:
- Response to Intervention: Tips for Educators | Lesson Plan
- RFK Jr. Has It All Wrong on Autism | AFT
- Tips for Beginning Paraprofessionals/Paraeducators | Lesson Plan
And check out these Share My Lesson blogs:
- Gus Walz: Joy and Freedom
- It’s Complicated: A Portrayal of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Teaching Disability Pride: New Resources for This Month and Beyond
- Where Have All the Special Education Teachers Gone? Or, the Importance of Tea
Watch this Vital Lessons session on demand:
Read now on AFT.org, IDEA at 50: Advancing equity, access and opportunity for every child.
Special Education: Free Lesson Plans and Resources
This curated Share My Lesson collection features some of our favorite prek-12 lesson plans, resources and professional development webinars for working with students and colleagues in the field of special needs education.
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A passionate advocate on behalf of students with disabilities. Experience as an educator, consultant, and district administrator.
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