Mills v.

Board of Education of the District of Columbia

Camila Elias

Introduction to Special Education 203-2002

Landmark Court case

Sunday, November 07, 2021

 In 1972, a court case was filed against the School Board of Education of the Columbia

District in Washington. The representatives of the case, known as MILLS, were the plaintiffs.

MILLS represented Peter Mills (12), Duane Blackshere (13), George Lidell (8), Steven Gaston

(8), Michael Williams (16), Janice King (13), and Jerome James (12). The Board of Education

was the defendant in this case. The students’ parents came together and went against the school

district because of the inequality their children faced.

About a year prior to the lawsuit, the scholar’s parents sought to put them into public

schools throughout the district. However, when the Fall 1971 term approached, they were

excluded and/or denied an education. Some of the representatives had been pulled out of school

and denied their education and others were simply denied for it because of their disabilities.

These seven students were identified as black and having, hyperactivity, mental delay, and/ or

emotional disturbances. The Board of Education’s alleged reasoning for the denial of the pupils

was due to insufficient funding as well as administrative inefficiency.

Judge Joseph Cornelius Waddy, the judge for the Mills v. Board of Education lawsuit,

responded to these allegations stating that if there weren’t sufficient funds to take care of the

disabled, then to work with what was given. He explained that they could apportion the funds in

such a way that they could ensure that every child received the education fitted for them. Judge

Waddy, and the court, directed that the school board make a detailed plan of how they would

ensure the right and equal education everybody deserves. Luckily, this opened doors for other

regulations to come about and benefit the education system.

After the Mills case, around twenty-seven other lawsuits were filed with similar cases

and that pressured the court to make changes in education for the sake of the students. This case,
and some others, also brought important provisions like The Education for All Handicapped

Children Act (EAHCA), and the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) just two years after the

Mills lawsuit. These two new acts also created a positive impact by ensuring that every child

with a disability receives a free and appropriate education for their individual needs. IDEA also

ensures that an IEP, or Individualized Education Program, be used in the child’s least restrictive

environments. These plans also incorporate the parents or guardians of the scholar and is

individualized specifically for his or her needs. Through these programs the students progress is

measured and parents receive full reports. These are the benefits of the Mills v. Board of

Education case.

Before the incidents of 1971 and 1972, kids with disabilities were allowed to be denied

their education, which was actually a violation of the fourteenth amendment. It states in the

Constitution of the United States that no state should deny to any person… equal protection of

the law. This lawsuit is important and considered a landmark court case because it’s historical

and holds legal significance. It truly gave every child an equal opportunity to succeed

educationally, regardless of race or disability. It changed education as a whole and for the good

of the citizens of our country.

 References

Peter W.D. Wright, Esq. and Pamela Darr Wrights. “The History of Special Education Law in

the United States .” Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy, 2020,

https://www.wrightslaw.com/law/art/history.spec.ed.law.htm.

“The Right to Education.” Disability Justice, 16 Aug. 2021, disabilityjustice.org/right-to-

education/.

“Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 348 F. Supp. 866 (D.D.C. 1972).” Justia

Law, law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/348/866/2010674/.

“Mills v. Bd. of Educ. - 348 F. Supp. 866 (D.D.C. 1972).” Community,

www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-mills-v-bd-of-educ.

District Court , United States. “United States District Court for the District of Columbia.” Mills

v. Board of Education , www.clearinghouse.net/chDocs/public/ED-DC-0002-0004.pdf.