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The supreme court declared it was legal to segregate individuals and have separate facilities as long as they are equal "separate but equal." This event was important in the history of special education because it shows how the LRE started (in history) and that students with disabilities were segregated before laws were made.

Council for Exceptional Children was the first advocacy organization for children with disabilities. This group was established by students and faculty members concerned with the education of children with disabilities. CEC has played a huge role in the development of the field, the design and advocacy of special education legislation, and the passage of six successful re-authorizations of IDEA. The main focus for CEC is to advocate for all children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment and the promotion and development of the profession of special education. This event was important in the history of special education, because it started the advocacy for students with disabilities and worked with the legislation.

Five cases were under one name, Oliver Brown et al. V. The Board of Education of Topeka. All with concerns about ending segregation in the public schools, specifically for colored people (NAACP). This case set the stage for Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Act by making the equal protection clause of the Constitution an underlying principle for the education of all America's children.

In a class that had seven students who represented a wide range of disabilities, the parents claimed that their children were being illegally excluded from school and the District of Columbia was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment by denying their children public education without due process of law. This event was important to the history of special education because it served as a blueprint for procedural protection that was later included in Public Law No. 92-142. This event provided multiple opportunities for cases to be protected by law.

Section 504 is a civil rights law that protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination in the workplace, public schools, and any entity receiving federal funding. This event is important to the history of special education because not only are students with disabilities protected in school, but also outside of school in public places.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is part of the legislation that ensures students with a disability are provided with free appropriate public education that is based on their unique individual needs. This event was important because it made it by law, that every individual with a disability at any severity has access to a public education, therefore increasing the percentage of students with a disability in a public school.

In Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District V. Rowley event, the parents of Amy Rowley contended that the school was required by law to provide a full time sign language interpreter for their hearing-impaired daughter. The Supreme Court established that schools were not responsible for providing maximum educational services; rather, they were responsible for meeting the basic needs of the child in order to provide a FAPE. This event is important in the history of special education because in other cases similar to this one, caused the supreme court to re-evaluate and determine what "meaningful benefit" and "significant learning" meant for those with a disability.

This case is one of the most important cases regarding the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). This case involved a six year old with Down syndrome who was placed in a general kindergarten education classroom for half a day, and in an early childhood special education classroom for the other half. His teacher reported he was not making progress in the regular education setting and was unable to accomplish basic tasks and objectives even with a one-on-one. The IEP team pulled him out of the regular education class and kept him in the special education class. The parents appealed the decision and went to court, but the Fifth Circuit determined that the school district had satisfactorily complied with the LRE mandate. This event is important in the history of special education because it proved that the LRE for any student is not always the general education room. It helped prove that students have different special unique needs that need to be met, and that students with different disabilities have different LRE.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law intended to expand the protection of individuals with disabilities from discrimination. This event is important to the history of special education because it served as an extension of Section 504. Section 504 has no federal funds, where ADA extends into the private sector without regard to funding.

No Child Left Behind Act require that schools disaggregate the annual progress of individual subgroups of students, including all racial and ethnic groups, students with disabilities and English language learners. This event is important to the history of special education because it worked on "leveling the field" and closing the achievement gap between all students in the schools. Also, because it required for highly qualified teachers who can implement the correct program/instruction (specific needs) for students with disabilities.