Question & Answer
Before the 1970s, students with special needs seeking education were barred from attending public schools. They could only attend private schools of institutions run by the state but were subjected to live under conditions that were very horrible. Using the Brown v. Board of Education by the Supreme Court, lawyers filed a lawsuit under the argument that these children also deserved equal education opportunities that black children had won in the previous years (Disability Justice, 2017).
The 1954 ruling on Brown v. Board of Education set the foundation for the Individuals with Disabilities Act federal law of 1975 that required access to appropriate and free public education for every child with special needs. The Court noted in that case that a number of facilities for education were fundamentally unequal. This single statement triggered civil rights movement groups to seek and pursue the integration of individuals with special needs into every sector of the society (Disability Justice, 2017).
It was extremely rare to find a public school admitting students with special needs in the 1960s but after the case things have changed for the better although a lot still needs to be done. Available statistics indicate that 56 percent of students with special needs have benefited from primary education in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling. It was President Thomas Jefferson who observed that the purpose of education offered by public schools should in toward preparing citizens to be well informed. The Brown v. Board of Education case just reinforced this observation. This is in view of the fact that the previous segregation of education limited learning opportunities for persons with special needs. It is only after full integration of education that fully inclusive schools can produce citizens who full life opportunities (Disability Justice , 2017).
Reference
Disability Justice. (2017). The Right to Education. Retrieved Jan. 23, 2017, from Disability Justice : http://disabilityjustice.org/right-to-education/