On December 2, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed into law Public Law (P.L.) 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which guaranteed the right to a free and appropriate public education for the nation’s 8 million children with disabilities.
On that day, President Ford indicated that “I have approved S. 6, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Unfortunately, this bill promises more than the Federal Government can deliver, and its good intentions could be thwarted by the many unwise provisions it contains. Everyone can agree with the objective stated in the title of this bill – educating all handicapped children in our Nation. The key question is whether the bill will really accomplish that objective. (Ford, 1975)
Please stay tuned as we will take you through 40 years of special education and helping children achieve the dream. We will be highlighting major accomplishments as well as reflecting on major hurdles that still have yet to be truly addressed. We will also look at what the future might have in store for the education of children with disabilities.
We should never fail to realize that on that day back in 1975, children finally had an opportunity to learn.
