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Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard
Worked with Victor the Wild Boy of Aveyron. Founding father of special education. Itard was the first physician to claim that an enriched environment could compensate for developmental delays caused by heredity or previous deprivation. -
American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and
First special education school in the United States, the American
Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb (now called the American School for the Deaf), was established in Hartford. -
Jean-Etinne Dominique Esquirol
Defined idiocy (person with little or o intellectual functioning) and imbecile (have the use of intellectual and affective faculties in a less degree than the perfect man). -
Jakob Guggenbul
Guggenbul established schoof for cretins in Switzerland. He belived students could be cured through proper health programming and training. School failed due to overcrowding and understaffing, which lead to abuse and neglect. -
Dorthea Dix
Investigated the appalling living conditions of persons with with disabilities. She appealed congress to set aside five million acres of land to accommodate persons with disabilities. Dix helped prepare the way for public institutions. -
Edouard Seguin
Studied under Itard. Believed that developing muscles and senses in students would allow them to obtain more control over the central nervous system which would cause them to gain control over their minds. Developed the physiological method using sensory and motor training. -
Samuel Gridley Howe
In 1848 Howe established the first pubic school for idiots in a wing of the Perkins Institute for the Blind. Implemented Edouard Seguin's systematic approach for instruction. In 1866 Howe published an updated and revised version of his original text in English, titled Idiocy and Its Treatment by the Physiological Method. -
Ward v. Flood
California Supreme Court held that a principal (Flood) of a public school could deny admittance to an African American child who had not had sufficient education to perform at the lowest grade of the school. This ruling was not only a basis for separate school for African American children, it also emphasized a principal's right to refuse admittance to students would not be able to master the content in the school. -
Ovide Decroly
In 1901, Decroly founded a school for children with mild disabilities (behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, light mental retardation). His pedagogy had four points: The hobbies and interests of the child as a guide to education, the child learns globally, without order, the "class" strictly speaking is everywhere and the natural environment that puts the child in a situation of discovery. -
Maria Montessori
January 6, 1907, established the Casa dei Bambini—Italian for “Children’s House, in San Lorenzo, a poor, inner-city district of Rome. Maria Montessori's concept called the "prepared environment", proposed that the environment can be designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child. -
Henry Herbert Goddard
The School Training of Defective Children report was released and emphasized the importance of using the Binet-Simon Test to identify feebleminded children. The Binet-Simon Test also identified the children classified as idiot, imbecile and moron. -
Council for Exceptional Children
The International Council for the Education of Exceptional Children which is now known as the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) was organized by Elizabeth Farrell and group of students attending the summer session at Teachers College, Columbia University. -
Dr. Leo Kanner
Dr. Kanner publishes a paper titled Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact, which clearly defined autism. -
The Arc
The National Association of Retarded Citizens was founded. This organization worked to change the public's perception of individuals with mental retardation and to establish services for children and adults who had been denied education. -
President's Panel on Mental Retardation
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Panel on Mental Retardation. The results 97 recommendations in the panel's report, helped to establish the involvement of executive and legislative branches of government, which set policies and established new programs. -
Rehabilitation Act
The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by Federal agencies, in programs
receiving Federal financial assistance, in Federal employment, and in the employment practices of Federal contractors. -
Public Law 94-142
President Gerald Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142). This is public law is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This Act guaranteed children with disabilities access to a free, appropriate, public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment. -
IDEA
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, was previously known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) IDEA has six basic principles:
Free Appropriate Public Education. ...
Appropriate Evaluation. ...
Individualized Education Plan. ...
Least Restrictive Environment. ...
Parent Participation. ...
Procedural Safeguards. -
No Child Left Behind Act
President Bush signed into law The No Child Left Behind Act, which authorized several federal education programs that are administered by the states. The law requires states to test student in reading and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school. It was the expectation that all students would meet or exceed state standards in reading and math by 2014. -
Every Student Succeeds Act
This Act replaces the No Child Left Behind Law. It impacts special education by allowing states to develop Alternate Achievement Standards for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. ESSA helps to provide an equal opportunity for students who receive special education services. -
The Condition of Education 2018
The Condition of Education is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing important developments and trends in education using the latest available data provided by National Center for Education Statistics. Between 2011–12 and 2017–18, the number of students served increased from 6.4 million to 7.0 million and the percentage served increased from 13 percent of total public school enrollment to 14 percent of total public school enrollment.
