The PARC Decree: Pennsylvania’s Most Overlooked Disability Resource
In a recent post, I shared a bit of history about the Disability Rights Movement and how we got to where we are today. But I didn’t dive deep into Pennsylvania’s role—specifically, Pennhurst, the PARC Decree, and the Right to Education Task Force. And let me tell you, Pennsylvania parents were absolute trailblazers in the fight for disability rights.
We owe it to them to know this history—and more importantly, to continue their work.
So, let’s talk about how Pennsylvania parents helped shape special education laws, the fight to close Pennhurst, and the powerful (but underused) parent resource that came from it all.

The Horror of Pennhurst and the Fight for Disability Rights
If you’ve heard of Willowbrook in New York, you know how horrifying institutionalization was for people with disabilities. Well, Pennsylvania had its own nightmare—Pennhurst State School.
Before Geraldo Rivera’s exposé on Willowbrook, local journalist Bill Baldini did an investigative report on Pennhurst. But for whatever reason, his work didn’t get the same national attention. (You can still find his footage on YouTube, but fair warning—it’s unwatchable.)
The conditions at Pennhurst were beyond horrific. Residents were neglected, abused, and treated more like prisoners than people needing care. Even after multiple lawsuits and media coverage, staff members were still being arrested in the mid-1980s for beating patients and forcing them to fight each other.
It wasn’t until 1987 that Pennhurst finally closed. Yes, 1987. That’s shockingly recent.
One of the landmark cases that helped shut it down was Halderman v. Pennhurst (1974). This class-action lawsuit argued that institutionalizing people with disabilities violated their constitutional rights. The plaintiffs won, and the court ruled that people with disabilities should be guaranteed three basic rights:
- The Right to Habilitation – The right to receive services that help them develop skills for independence.
- The Right to Be Free from Harm – No more abuse or neglect.
- The Right to Non-Discriminatory Habilitation – Equal access to education and services, free from discrimination.
While Halderman v. Pennhurst was a massive win, the fight wasn’t over. The case dragged on, and the Supreme Court actually overturned the decision based on 11th Amendment principles (ugh). But a settlement was reached, and Pennhurst was finally closed.
The PARC Decree: The Lawsuit That Changed Everything
While Halderman v. Pennhurst was making its way through the courts, another groundbreaking case was also happening—PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (1971).
At the time, Pennsylvania had a law that allowed schools to exclude children with disabilities if they didn’t have the “mental age of five” by the time they were supposed to start first grade. In other words, if a child wasn’t keeping up with neurotypical peers by age eight, the state could legally deny them an education.
Enter the Pennsylvania Association of Retarded Citizens (PARC) and 14 families who had children excluded from school. They filed a lawsuit—and they won.
Here’s why PARC v. Pennsylvania is so important:
🔥 It was the first “Right to Education” lawsuit in the country.
🔥 It became the foundation for IDEA. (Yes, the very core of special education law today—the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—was built on this Pennsylvania case.)
🔥 It directly led to national protections. In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, now known as IDEA, ensuring that all children with disabilities have the right to a free and appropriate public education.
Pennsylvania parents made this happen.
The Best Parent Resource in PA That No One Uses
Here’s where things get interesting.
The PARC Decree didn’t just change laws—it also created a powerful parent-led resource: the Right to Education Task Force.
This task force was designed to make sure that the spirit of the PARC decision—protecting the rights of children with disabilities—continued across the state. And it’s supposed to be 51% parents. In other words, parents are meant to have more say than school officials.
Yet, every time I meet a Pennsylvania parent fighting for their child’s IEP, they say things like:
🗣️ “Why don’t we have a parent-led group for this?”
🗣️ “We should start something to help other parents.”
🗣️ “There’s no support for us anywhere!”
And I want to scream—we already have this!
The Right to Education Task Forces exist in every Intermediate Unit (IU) across Pennsylvania. But because they have an awful name (seriously, “Task Force” sounds like something out of an action movie), no one even knows they exist.
What the Task Forces Are Supposed to Do
According to the PARC Decree, the Right to Education Task Force is responsible for:
✔️ Improving and monitoring special education programs in PA.
✔️ Advocating for students and making sure schools follow the law.
✔️ Cooperating with agencies to ensure kids get the services they need.
✔️ Training parents to understand their rights and advocate effectively.
✔️ Reviewing school district budgets before they go to the Department of Education.
That’s a huge list of responsibilities. And these are exactly the things parents wish they had more say in.
So, Pennsylvania parents, if you’re frustrated with your child’s IEP process, this is where you should be.
How to Get Involved
If you live in Pennsylvania and your child has an IEP, you need to contact your IU and ask when your local Task Force meets.
If it’s not active? Start showing up. Rally your friends. Get involved.
Because here’s the thing—our kids have these rights today because parents before us fought for them. And if we don’t keep fighting, no one else will.
💡 Want more advocacy tools? Check out my IEP resources here: A Day in Our Shoes
Let’s keep this movement going. 💪