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First State-Supported Plan of Inclusion
In 1779, Thomas Jefferson proposed the first state-sponsored plan to provide education to the poor in Virginia. This proposal was rejected by the citizens of the state as they refused to pay extra taxes in order to educate the poor. -
First Educational Program for Individuals with Disabilities
Thomas Gallaudet intorduces the first education program for individuals with disabilities in 1817. This program is established at the American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, located in Connecticut. -
Ending Segregation in Higher Education
Charles Houston helps to end segregation in higher education at the University of Maryland Law School in 1936 and the University of Missouri Law School in 1938. Houston influenced graduates to end discrimination with their law practices, and to utilize the 14th Amendment to test discrimination policies. -
Brown v. Board of Education
On May 17, 1954, Chief Justice to the Supreme Court Earl Warren issued a ruling stating that segregation practices in schools were unconstitutional. Warren's decision ruled that "seperate is not equal", and that laws permitting racial segregation were immediately invalid. This ruling later becomes the focus of advocates for inclusionary practices for students with disabilities. -
Congressional Authorization for Funding
In 1958, Congress approves funding for special education teachers as a result of the advocacy of parent groups such as the National Association for Retarded Citizens (The Arc). These groups sought to have educational opportunities afforded to their children, eventually leading to the advocacy of inclusion to regular classrooms. -
Following Brown v. Board
Following the Warren decision in Brown v. Board of Education, advocates for the education of students with disabilities begin to pressure the legal system to adopt more laws that prohibit schools from denying a student with a disability an education. In 1971 and 1972, courts in Pennsylvania and Washington DC declare that all students labeled as "mentally retarded" have the right to a free and appropriate education and ban their denial from public schools -
Rehabilittation Act, Section 504
Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act in 1973. Section 504 of this law, and later amendments as well, guarantee the rights of individuals with disabilities in the workforce and in education (wherein the institution receives federal funding). -
Regular Education Initiative
In 1986, the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs unveils the Regular Education Initiative. Directed under the U.S. Department of Education, the Regular Education Initiative was designed to encourage special education departments and general education departments to work together to find ways for students with mild or moderate disabilities to be taught in the general education classroom. -
National Association of School Boards of Education Report
In 1992, an NASBE study group released a report calling for the inclusion of all students in the general education classroom, as well as changes to organizational and instruction practices in schools and changes to how teachers are educated and licensed so as to be prepared to operate in an inclusive classroom. -
State Implementation
Every state in the United States implemented inclusionary practices in one form or another by 1993. Between 1990 and 1996, the percentage of students with disabilities in general education classrooms increased by nearly 14%, -
Educate America Act of 1994
The passage of this federal law built upon the educational requirements outlined in the Regular Education Initiative of 1986. In this law, Congress established that educational goals must apply to all students, not just those within the general education classroom, which includes students with severe disabilities. This is one of the first laws passed that truly attempts to bring inclusion to the American education system. -
Enabling Schools to Become Inclusive Environments
Following the NASBE report of 1992, eight other large educational associations followed suit by calling for better inclusion practices including the National Education Association, American Association of School Administrators, Council for Exceptional Children, Council for Great City Schools, National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Association of State Directors for Special Education and National State Board Association -
No Child Left Behind
President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, but it was not received well by many inclusion advocates. Inclusion advocates argued that the law was a step backwards in the fight for inclusion due to the implementation of standardization, a "one size fits all" mentality as compared to differentiation, and tying funding to school performance. -
Articles on Inclusion
Beginning in 1993, news organizations began to report on how inclusion can be incorporated in the classroom. In October 2003, the education journal Education Leadership dedicated their issue to inclusion practices calling it "Teaching All Students". -
Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)
Prior to 1990, IDEA was known as the Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EHA). In 1990, the act was reauthorized to become more expansive in ensuring the access to education for all students with disabilities. There are six pillars within IDEA: Individual Education Plans, Free/Appropriate Public Education, Least Restrictive Environment, Appropriate Evaluation, Parent/Teacher Participation, and Procedural Safeguards. IDEA has been amended several times, most recently in 2004.
