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PL94-142
PL94-142 was one of the most important legal norms that enhanced the position of children with disabilities in regard to education. According to PL94-142, in order to receive federal funds, states must develop and implement policies that assure a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to all children with disabilities. The state plans must be consistent with the federal statute, Title 20 United States Code Section 1400 et.seq. In such a way, the PL94-142 was implemented in response to the rise of the Civil Rights movement and public pressure to improve the position of children with disabilities to provide them with equal educational rights and opportunities.
Special education law in the last 36 years
Historically, the problem of disabilities was a serious obstacle on the way of students to their education. As the matter of fact, students having serious problems with their vision could hardly get an adequate education because they could not learn as other students could. What is meant here is the fact traditionally the system of education was oriented on teaching students which can learn through reading and writing. In such a way, reading and writing were and still remain the major skills students should develop and use effectively. Taking into consideration problems of students with disabilities they could not really develop both reading and writing skills because, in the past, it was impossible technically. Nevertheless, students with disabilities have got larger opportunities to learn today than they used to have in the past. This is why the inclusion of students with visual impairment is still one of the major challenges contemporary educators attempt to cope with. In actuality, the elimination of barriers between students with disabilities and other students is one of the major goals of the modern special education. In practice, this means that today educators attempt to make the process of learning for students with visual impairment similar to that other students have and for this purpose new technologies and methodologies are used.
To meet needs of children with disabilities legislators implemented new legal acts, norms and programs. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which banned the discrimination of children with disabilities and enforced their rights to get education. Under the ADA, educational institutions should provide students with access to education regardless of their disabilities that meant the adaptation of facilities and curriculum to special needs of children with disabilities.
IDEA04
IDEA04 became the next step toward inclusion of children with disabilities into the national education system. The IDEA04 was implemented to facilitate the regulations concerning education and education of children with disabilities. The simplification of regulations was supposed to facilitate the access of children with disabilities to education. The implementation of this act was determined by the complexity of the legislation at the state level because each state introduced its own regulations that raised barriers on the way of students with disabilities to receive their education. In addition, IDEA04 aimed at the unification of the legislation concerning regulations and standards of education, including those related to students with disabilities. Thus, the IDEA04 aimed at balancing and harmonization of the educational legislation and regulations nationwide.
The implementation of IDEA04
At the local level, the implementation of IDEA04 raised a number of problems because local authorities and legislators have to adapt the local legislation to norms of IDEA04 and to norms of the federal legislation. At the same time, IDEA04 raised the problem of the conflict between the local authorities and the federal government and legislators because the local authorities viewed IDEA04 as an attempt to limit their autonomy.
Conclusion
Thus, within the last four decades the legislation concerning education of children with special needs and disabilities has changed consistently. In fact, within forty years the foundation to the democratic legal norms protecting rights and liberties of children with disabilities was created. In this respect, PL94-142, the ADA of 1990, and IDEA04 played the crucial role in regard to the integration of children with disabilities into the national education system.

 
References:
DeLeire, T. (Autumn, 2000). The Wage and Employment Effects of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 693–715
Fielder, J. F. (2004). Mental Disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
Hamilton, K. L., ed. (2003). Backlash Against the ADA: Reinterpreting Disability Rights Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Huebner, K. A., Prickettt, J. G., Welch, T. R., & Joffee, E. (Eds.). (1996). Hand in hand: Essentials of communication and orientation and mobility for your students who are deaf-blind. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.
Sacks, S. Z., Kekelis, L. S., & Gaylord Ross, R. J. (1992). The development of social skills by blind and visually impaired students. New York: American Foundation for the Blind.