Public Law 94-142 Pros And Cons

Although not common knowledge, there are many laws which script our nation’s education system. Without these laws our education systems would lack structure and therefore, success. One of the most important laws regarding exceptional learners is Public Law 94-142, otherwise known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. P.L. 94-142 is comprised of an important history, a solid reasoning, and a host of revisions. Without this law, special education would differ greatly from what we have today. Before the creation of P.L. 94-142, there were many court cases whose results paved the way for the creation of P.L. 94-142. On May 17th, 1954, the famous Supreme Court case, Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, determined that it was unlawful to segregate students by race while also leading the way for special education. Nearly 11 years later, on April 9th, 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act became a law with the signature of

94-142 has been amended 3 separate times. The first amendment to P.L. 94-142 happened in 1990. This amendment changed the name to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. It also added a requirement for students to have an Individual Transition Plan by the age of 16. Later, in 1997 P.L. 94-142 was amended to allow children with disabilities to receive similar disciplinary actions to those without disabilities. Transition planning begins at 14 years old instead of 16 years old. Measurable annual goals receive additional emphasis. It requires students with disabilities to be included in statewide assessments. In 2004, P.L. 94-142 added the language assessment requirements from the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, it created a pilot program which implemented 3-year IEPs across 15 different states. Also, IEPs are no longer required to include benchmark or short-term objectives. These amendments have allowed decades old legislature to remain viable and important into the