Brown v. Board of Education and the Development of Special Education

Abstract

May 2020 was the 66th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. In this case, perhaps the most important ruling of the 20th century, the Supreme Court ruled that the racial segregation of Black children in public schools was unconstitutional. In addition, the ruling in Brown v. Board had a profound effect on the education of children with disabilities. The purpose of this column is to examine the Supreme Court’s ruling and to explore the impact of the rulings on students with disabilities.