Civil Rights Movement: Brown Vs. Board Of Education

An exceptionally important part in the history of special education law is the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement did not just affect African-Americans. It allowed for people with disabilities to make steps in achieving equality. The following paragraphs will discuss a few court cases that occurred during the civil rights movement, how this is currently influencing the classroom, and how the civil rights movement is still current today. The most well known case of the civil rights movement is Brown vs. Board of Education. Brown vs. Board of Education concluded that to segregated students was a violation of the students’ 14th amendment right under the constitution. “As an extension of this argument, the Court maintained that

Pennsylvania, 1972. In this case students with mental retardation were not receiving a public education and therefore having their 14th amendment violated. The end result was that students ages 6 to 21 with mental retardation would receive a free public education that was similar to students without disabilities. (Yell, 2012) Mills v. Board of Education, 1972, was a case that challenged the rights for students who were not allowed a free public education without a due process hearing. The results of Mills v. Board of Education, were that all students with disabilities were to be given a free public education, procedural safeguards, and defined important procedures in special education. (Yell, 2012)

The civil rights movement is still affecting classrooms today. I currently am working as an elementary special education teacher in a small Yup’ik village school in Kipnuk, Alaska. Kipnuk’s Chief Paul Memorial School consists of 100% Native Alaskans all living on tribal land. In 2003 the National Council on Disability wrote a report to the president stating their current finding about Native Americans/Alaska Natives with Disabilities on Tribal Land. Due to the location of many students with disabilities there were not the funds or human recourses to service these students. This would not allow them to get the equal opportunity as their non-indigenous peers. (National Council on Disability,

The concern has shifted from free public education to getting all of the service each student needs. Students who are in more populated cities in Alaska have related service providers in the school building. This is not equal for students on tribal land they see the related service providers three to four times a year. Related service providers are in the school district about a week out of every month and will visit the schools based on his/her caseload. Visits are on a “weather permitting” basis, as well. The weather of the Kuskokwim Delta can make it difficult for flying, causing students to lose service time with a knowledgeable service provider. The state and district’s budget would not allow for the employment of occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech pathologist for every school in