Chapter 3: The History of the Law and Children with Disabilities
Test Questions
True or False
1. As recently as 1958 states continued to enact statutes that authorized school officials to
exclude students with disabilities.
2. The history of special education can fairly be characterized as a movement from access to
quality and accountability.
3. According to the President’s commission on Excellence, scientifically based programming
would mean that special educators would only use instructional strategies and methods that
were based on solid evidence.
4. Students with disabilities were included in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
accountability provisions.
5. The primary purpose of Section 504 was to provide funding to states that prohibited
discrimination against persons with disabilities.
6. Even though compulsory attendance laws had been passed by the early 1900’s, states
continued to enact statutes authorizing school officials to exclude students with disabilities.
7. The Education of Handicapped Children Act was the first federal civil rights law to protect
persons with disabilities.
8. Section 504 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act only serve persons with
disabilities between the ages of three to 21.
9. Section 504 prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in any public or private
institution.
10. No Child Left Behind dramatically increased the role of the federal government in education.
Multiple Choice
1. It was primarily by the efforts of ______________ that educational rights children with
disabilities were recognized and eventually mandated.
a. Parents
b. Legislators
c. Lawyers
d. Optometrists
2. The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is an organization that is a major force in:
a. Developing innovative educational programming
b. Pre- and in-service teacher education
c. Policy making and lobbying efforts
d. All of the above
3. Though its most direct effect was the tremendous impact on societal rights for minorities, the
_______________ decision provided impetus for subsequent legislation and litigation
granting students with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education.
a. Mills v. Board of Education of the D.C.
b. PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
c. Brown v. Board of Education
d. Ohio Parent Advocacy Group v. Board of Education
4. Prior to 1975, students with disabilities access to educational opportunities were mainly
limited because:
a. Often students with disabilities were completely excluded from public schools
b. Those students with disabilities admitted to schools did not receive an appropriate
education
c. Teachers were inefficiently prepared to teach disabled students
d. Both a and b
5. In 1990 what two disability categories did IDEA add?
a. Autism and pervasive developmental disorder
b. Pervasive developmental disorder and down syndrome
c. Autism and traumatic brain injury
d. Down syndrome and traumatic brain injury
6. All but one of the following advocacy organizations were founded by parents:
a. National Association for Down Syndrome
b. Council for Exceptional Children
c. United Cerebral Palsy Association, Inc.
d. Association for Children with Learning Disabilities (ACLD)
7.
The Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 was popularly known as
a. P.L. 101-476
b. P.L. 94-142
c. P.L. 105-17
d. P.L. 101-336
8. Which of the following cases was resolved by a consent agreement specifying that all
children with mental retardation must be provided a free public education?
a. Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Pennsylvania
b. Beattie v. Board of Education
c. Brown v. Board of Education
d. Mills v. Board of Education
9. A class action suit that resulted in a mandate that all students with disabilities be provided
with an appropriate publicly supported education was
a. Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Pennsylvania
b. Beattie v. Board of Education
c. Brown v. Board of Education
d. Mills v. Board of Education
10. In 1990 the name of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act was changed in the
a. Education of the Handicapped Amendments
b. Handicapped Children’s Protection Act
c. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
d. The IDEA Amendments
Short Answer
1. In their report A New Era: Revitalizing Special Education for Children and Their Families
what were the three major recommendations from The President’s Commission on Excellence
in Special Education?
2. Describe the major way that No Child Left Behind holds states and schools accountable for
improving its students’ educational achievement.
3. IDEA ’90 required that individualized transition planning be included in the IEPs of students
with disabilities who were 16 years of age or older. What are transition services, and how do
they aid a student?
4. What are the components of an Individualized Family Support Plan (IFSP)?
5. Briefly describe two areas of difference between the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act and Section 504.
6. Briefly describe the how state education statutes and the IDEA interact.
7. In general, what was the educational status of children with disabilities in the United States
prior to 1975 and the passage of the EAHCA?
8. Briefly explain the decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). How did this decision
affect the education of students with disabilities?
9. Briefly explain the decisions in Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v.
Pennsylvania and Mills v. Board of Education and their importance to students with
disabilities.
10. Briefly describe the 1986 and 1990 amendments to the IDEA. (P. 70-74)
Essay
1. Discuss the important role parental advocacy has played in the education of students with
disabilities.
2. Discuss why the legal development of special education can be characterized as a movement
from access to accountability.
3. Discuss the effects of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of
Education (1954) on the education of students with disabilities.
4. Discuss the federal role in the development of special education.
Chapter 3: The History of the Law and Children with Disabilities
True or False
Multiple Choice