Prior to the 1960s, private institutions and individual families provided a certain level of programs for children with disabilities. In 1965 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act laid the foundation for the beginnings of modern special education programs. At this point, public school classes for students with disabilities were few and far between.
The passage of the Education of Handicapped Act in 1970 provided grant funds for local school districts to educate students with disabilities. While the federal government began to enact laws to provide education to students with disabilities, the states began to require local school districts to provide special education classes. However, it was the landmark Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 that mandated free, quality education for all students with disabilities. This was the beginning of standardized special education programs on a state level.
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act stated that children with disabilities should be educated in a "least restrictive environment." Special education programs continued to evolve based on that principle. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1986 expanded special education programs to include preschoolers and early intervention programs for infants through 3-year-olds.
In 1990, the Education of the Handicapped Act was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). With the new name, the new categories of autism and traumatic brain injury were added to the list of disabilities covered under the law, expanding the range of students as well as the types of programs offered.
In 1997, individual education plans (IEPs) were introduced to provide an appropriate educational plan for each student with disabilities. A greater effort was made to include parents in the plan and make special education more inclusive. The landscape of special education programs became as varied as the students with disabilities themselves, with IEPs providing for the individualized needs of students and placing them in the most appropriate learning environment.
The expansive No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and 2004 further provided for special education services and resources. Technology assistance and school accountability for special education programs was increased through the act. Federally mandated special education programs are funded and monitored on a national, state and local level. These programs educate students with a wide range of cognitive, emotional and physical disabilities.
Today, special education programs have evolved to become a mix of of classroom settings. Inclusion programs provide for a student with disabilities to be part of a typical classroom, as well as work individually with special education teachers and aides. Students are also mainstreamed, meaning they spend the day in a classroom that is taught by both a special education teacher and a regular teacher. When necessary, students with disabilities are provided their own self-contained classroom.