Historical Context
Before the 1970s, many states used this label to justify excluding children from public schools.
What is “uneducable” (or “untrainable”)?
The plaintiffs argued children were denied this basic public service.
What is education (public education)?
The state claimed some children could not benefit from this.
What is education?
The case ended in this type of legal agreement rather than a full trial ruling.
What is a consent decree?
This 1975 federal law was heavily influenced by the PARC case.
What is the Education for All Handicapped Children Act?
This type of facility often housed children with disabilities instead of schools.
What are state institutions (or mental institutions)?
They claimed exclusion violated this clause requiring equal treatment under the law.
What is the Equal Protection Clause?
Defendants argued limited funding justified restricting this service.
What is public education (or educational resources)?
The court ruled that children with disabilities must receive this type of education.
What is a free public education?
This modern law is the updated version of that 1975 act.
What is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)?
This 1954 Supreme Court case helped inspire arguments for equal education rights.
What is Brown v. Board of Education?
Plaintiffs argued children were excluded without this legal safeguard.
What is due process (notice and a hearing)?
The state relied on classifications like this to exclude children.
What is “uneducable” (or “untrainable”)?
The decision required placement in the least restrictive version of this.
What is an educational environment?
This principle ensures students learn alongside peers whenever possible.
What is Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)?
This constitutional amendment was central to claims about equal protection and due process.
What is the Fourteenth Amendment?
They argued all children are capable of this, contradicting state assumptions.
What is learning (or benefiting from education)?
The state suggested schools were not equipped to handle students with these.
What are severe intellectual disabilities?
The court rejected the idea that any child is completely this.
What is uneducable?
This term describes the guaranteed right to a suitable education for all students with disabilities.
What is Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)?
During the 1960s–70s, this broader movement pushed for equality and influenced disability rights.
What is the Civil Rights Movement?
Plaintiffs said cost was not a valid reason to deny this constitutional right.
What is access to education?
Defendants believed decisions about education should be left to this authority.
What is the state (or local school systems)?
Schools were required to provide procedural safeguards such as this before exclusion.
What is a hearing (or due process protections)?
This similar case extended educational rights to students in Washington, D.C.
What is Mills v. Board of Education?