Since the first American public school was founded in Boston in 1663, this nation has recognized and respected the educational rights of children.
Nevertheless, it took well over three hundred (300) years before American law extended similar educational rights to children with disabilities.
Within our own generation, various state laws designed to exclude disabled children from public schools were abrogated by federal courts in 1972. Then, in 1975, the Education for Handicapped Children Act (EHCA) established the right of all children with disabilities to receive a free public school education in an integrated environment.
In 1990, the same year the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law, the EHCA was amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
On the 35th Anniversary of the EHCA and 20th Anniversary of the IDEA, I celebrate the gains made. I must also observe, however, that the battle continues and remains an almost a day-by-day struggle to enforce the law and protect the educational rights promised to children with disabilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment