Gaining access to general education: the promise of universal design for learning

On November 29, 1975 then President Ford signed the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA, Public Law 94-142) into law, mandating for the first time that children and youth with disabilities be afforded the right to a free and appropriate public education, individualized programming, parental participation in the decision making process, nondiscriminatory identification and evaluation, instruction in the least restrictive environment, while ensuring families due process rights and responsibilities.