1. Fundamental of Special Education
Peter Mills v.
DC Board of Education
348 F. Supp 2866 (1972)
Maurice Edim
Fundamental of Special Education
September 3rd, 2014

2. Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972)
Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972) was a case brought on behalf of 7 students living in Washington D.C. These students with disabilities had been excluded from their public school and denied educational services. The parents of these students filed a law suit against the Board for denying their right to an education

3. Case Details
These children were denied admission to public schools in Washington, D.C. because of learning and behavioral problems. They were not provided with an educational alternative of compensation for private schooling, thus denying them a free education
The Board of Education claimed that they did not have sufficient funds to provide special education services without taking millions of dollars from the general education programs.
The parents brought a class action suit against the Board of Education of the District of Columbia, which was tried in the federal district court of Washington, D.C.

4. Plaintiffs and Defendants
Seven Exceptional students represented by their parents.
The children had a variety of disabilities including physical impairment,, epilepsy, hyperactivity, and mental retardation
These plaintiffs also represented an estimated 18,000 exceptional children in Washington, D.C. not receiving appropriate special education services
Plaintiffs argued that the children were excluded from school without equal protection of law and due process of law
Defendants
The Board of Education of the District of Columbia
The Superintendent of Schools for the District of Columbia and subordinate school officials
The Commissioner of the District of Columbia Public Schools
Defendants argued that the district provided programming, but there were insufficient funds to retain the plaintiffs in the district

5. Applicable Law
14th Amendment- Equal Protection of the Laws clause of the U.S. Constitution
5th Amendment- Due process in the U.S. Constitution
District of Columbia Code of Education, that contains the requirement to provide education to all members of the district

6. Court Ruling
The court ruled in favor of the children, declaring that excluding the disabled children violated their right to a free public education. The court cited Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), comparing the children’s exclusion to the segregation outlawed by Brown v. Board.
Failure to provide access to public school violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment
Children with disabilities could not be denied education without due process (5th Amendment)
The district was misusing federal funds by not providing specifically labeled special needs children with special education.
“ The District of Columbia shall provide to each child of school age a free and suitable publicly-supported education regardless of the degree of the child’s mental, physical, or emotional disability or impairment”
(Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia).

7. Implications for Special Education
The courts ruling set the stage for many of the principles of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and now the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
The court mandated free public education for each child with a disability, foreshadowing the principles of zero-reject and free appropriate public education (FAPE)
The courts order included a provision requiring documentation of the special education services required for each child, setting the stage for Individual Education Plans (IEPS)
Mills case broadened the scope of the PARC case across all disability categories.
The case established the “zero reject” principle of PL
The Mills case was the genesis in PL for:
Labeling, Placement, & exclusionary stages of decision making
Parental right to a hearing, appeal, & records access.

8. Questions or Comments?