Abigail Snyder

Edu 203
11/21/21

In 1972 a lawsuit was filed, and it would be one of the most important cases involving

children with disabilities and it would lay some of the most important foundations for the IDEA

Act. Seven students who lived in the District of Columbia were all denied of educational services

and were disregarded from their public school they were categorized as either having behavioral

problems emotionally disturbed or mentally challenged. These children were denied going to

public school because the schools claimed that they did not have the funding for services that

these children needed and that it would cost the schools millions of dollars to treat and educated

these children and it would not have been fair to the general education classes to provide that

funding elsewhere. These children had no other alternatives for schooling, private schooling was

costly, and parents couldn’t afford it. Mills VS. Board of education was one of the most

important cases that helped lay the foundation that eventually led to the passage of Section 504

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)

In the early 20th century mistreatment of people with learning, behavioral, mental, and

physical disabilities was so common and almost normal but throughout the century it took long

and hard fights to get the appropriate education for their specific learning needs. This is a

landmark case because it better helped people in special education reach their potential and laid

some of the most foundational aspects of the act IDEA. In this case the defense who was the

Board of Education of the District of Columbia, argued that education was only beneficial to

those who could make use of it, and that the school didn’t have enough funding to provide for

special education because it would take away from the general education curriculum and it

wouldn’t be fair to those in the general education classroom. Although the case only included
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seven exceptional children the parent were the faces of the case and represented thousands of

exceptional children all over America fighting the same issue.

The case went to the supreme court because it was just one of many cases that was filled

regarding the treatment of students that needed an alternative education course besides the

general curriculum, especially black students. The parents sued on behalf of all the students that

were being mistreated by the education system in the District of Columbia and demanded better

conditions or alternative schooling for free. For too long children with learning, behavioral

disabilities have been neglected and were not being taken care of because the education system

was rooted in racism and misunderstanding about these marginalized groups of people, who

deserved every right to education as much as anyone else.

The judge who was assigned to the case was Judge Joseph Cornelius Waddy, and the

supreme court ruled that education services must be provided free of charge to every student’s

exclusive needs. Further, the court also stated that it was inexcusable to safeguard funding

instead of providing education for every student. Funding for special education needed to

become a priority for public school and assessments needed to be provided to those to needed it.

The court adopted a plan to ensure that students had an equal opportunity under the law.

Although in the early 20th century special education was a topic that was often scrutinized and

disregarded after this court case, it made it so more accessible to those who needed it.
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“Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia.” Civil Liberties and Civil Rights in the

United States, usedulaw.com/litigation/special-education-and-rights-of-disabled-

persons/438-mills-v-board-of-education-of-the-district-of-columbia.

“Mills v. Board of Education and Its Effect on the Field of Special Education.” Colleen

McGlynn’s Student Teaching Portfolio, cmcglynnportfolio.weebly.com/mills-v-board-of-

education-and-its-effect-on-the-field-of-special-eduction.

‌Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia: Summary & Significance Video. “Mills v.

Board of Education of District of Columbia: Summary & Significance - Video & Lesson

Transcript | Study.com.” Study.com, 2021, study.com/academy/lesson/mills-v-board-of-

education-of-district-of-columbia-summary-significance

Gargiulo, Richard M. Special Education in Contemporary Society + Introduction to Special

Education, Student Version. Sage Publications, 2016.