Students with disabilities have many legal protections in the United States. Many of these protections can be traced back to lawsuits which were fought to better the education of students from culturally and linguistically diverse populations (Yell 2016). Because of these early and historic efforts by advocates for fairness and equality, approximately, 6.5 million students with disabilities now have a right to a free and appropriate public education in the United States. Public Law 94-142 was passed in 1975 and guaranteed a free and appropriate education to all students with disabilities in the United States. This chapter will explore how court cases that advocated for the rights for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students led to federal equal rights legislation for students with disabilities. Legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 will be explored.