History of Special Education

By rkb92

  • American School for the Deaf

    American School for the Deaf
    The American School for the Deaf became the first institution for children with disabilities in 1817. The American School for the Deaf (ASD) is particularly significant because it paved the way for advancement in this field. At a time when, at best, society frequently ignored the disabled, the school provided dignity and education to those who had physical disabilities.

  • Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind

    Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind
    The Washington, DC-based Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind first opened its doors in 1857. They provided basic education and moral instruction to students in the DC area who suffered from blindness, mutism, and deafness.

  • Training of Professional Personnel Act of 1959

    The act provided grants to public or other nonprofit institutions of higher learning to aid them in conducting teacher training programs for subjects related to the education of mentally retarded children.

  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    The United States Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965 with the intention of giving all students access to equal educational opportunities regardless of their socioeconomic background.

  • Handicapped Children's Early Education Assistance Act

    A federal law passed in the United States in 1968 called the Handicapped Children's Early Education Assistance Act permitted the creation of early childhood and preschool programs that were experimental for handicapped children.

  • Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Commonwealth

    The first right-to-education lawsuit in the nation, in an effort to overturn that Pennsylvania law and ensure that all children receive a top-notch education. A consent decree was quickly reached in the case before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and it required the state to offer mentally retarded children free public education.

  • Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia

    The United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia that students with disabilities have a right to an education and that this right cannot be denied on the grounds that providing accommodations would increase the school's expenses.

  • The Education for All Handicapped Children Act

    The Education for All Handicapped Children Act, also known as the EHA, was enacted by President Gerald Ford. Each child with a disability was entitled to a free, suitable public education, or FAPE, under the EHA in every state and locality in the nation.

  • Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments

    The law's objectives included reauthorizing optional programs covered by the Education of the Handicapped Act, approving an early intervention program for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, among other things.

  • Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1990

    This renamed the law the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, changing it from the EHA. Autism and traumatic brain injury were also added as new disability classifications. Additionally, Congress mandated that an individual transition plan (ITP) be created as part of a student's individualized education program (IEP) to aid in the student's transition to post-secondary life.

  • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997

    A new challenge to enhance outcomes for children with disabilities and their families was outlined in the reauthorization. This put a focus on gaining access to the core curriculum. Additionally, states were given the power to include students up to the age of nine in the "developmental delay" definition. Additionally, the law stipulated a process for mediating disputes between parents and schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) and required that parents be given the chance to do so.

  • The No Child Left Behind Act

    The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was a federal law that the United States passed with the intention of enhancing the nation's primary and secondary educational systems. The law included Title I provisions that applied to underprivileged students and reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law was founded on the idea that improving standards-based education reform required setting high standards and creating measurable goals.

  • Reauthorizing the IDEA

    Reauthorizing the IDEA brought it into compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act's requirements. The 2004 reauthorization called for increased accountability, improved educational outcomes, and higher standards for teachers of special education classes. It also called for early intervening services for kids who aren't yet identified as needing special education but who still need extra academic and behavioral support to succeed in a general education setting.