History of Education for Students with Disabilities

By elliegehl

  • The Connecticut Asylum opens

    The Connecticut Asylum opens
    The Connecticut Asylum at Hartford opens for the deaf and dumb. This is the first permanent school for deaf students in the United States. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc were the co-founders of the school. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet's son would help to open Gallaudet University years later. Gallaudet University was the first college specifically for deaf students. (Edmund Sass)

  • Public Law 94-142

    congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This guaranteed that all special-needs children would receive a free and appropriate education. This education needed to be provided in the least restrictive way possible. Through provisions of this act parents are allowed to be included in all of the planning of educational programs for their children. (Parkay, Becoming a Teacher, P 163)

  • Public Law 99-457

    Public Law 99-457 amended the All Handicapped Children Act. The amendment required that individual states must provide services to families with children born with disabilities from their birth. (the University of Kansas, Timeline of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

  • Public Law 101-476

    Public Law 101-476 changed things from Public Law 94-142. Traumatic brain injury and autism were added to the disability categories as new disabilities. It was mandated that a student's Individual education plan (IEP) or individual transition plan (ITP) must help develop the student's transition to post-secondary life. (the University of Kansas, Timeline of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

  • Congress amended IDEA

    Congress amended IDEA
    Congress amended IDEA calling for early intervention. This raised the standards for special education teachers and improved educational outcomes. This required states to require local school districts to shift 15% of the special education funds they receive towards regular education if it was determined that a large number of minority students were placed in special education for any reason other than disability (the University of Kansas, Timeline of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)