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American School for the Deaf
The first school for the deaf was opened in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut, named "The American School for the Deaf". This was the first school for disabled children in the Western hemisphere. Yale graduate Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet met Dr. Mason Fitch Cogswell's deaf daughter, Alice, and was inspired to learn how to educate deaf children. He learned from a school in France, l'Institut National de Jeunes Sourds, a school for the deaf. https://www.asd-1817.org/about/history--cogswell-heritage-house -
Common Schools Movement
The Common Schools Movement was started by the secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Horace Munn, in 1837. It is regarded as the start of systematic public schooling in the United States. This movement helped to advance other "progressive" ideals of the time, and spread to other states throughout the U.S. for the rest of the 1800s. Common schools were free, locally funded, somewhat regulated by the state, and only available to white children. -
Beattie vs. Board of Education
In 1918, Martin Beattie, a 13 year old student with a form of paralysis, was expelled because his condition "nauseated" his teachers and peers. He had speech problems and sometimes drooled, which the school found to be distracting and time consuming for teachers. In 1919, the court ruled that the schools could exclude children with disabilities as they were seen to be potentially "harmful" to other people. At this time, society still looked down on people with disabilities. -
The Arc
The Arc is an organization that advocates for the inclusion of disabled individuals. It was started in 1950 by parents of disabled children who felt that their children shouldn't be sent off to an institution rather than be a part of the community. The Arc was the first organization to put money towards research about intellectual and developmental disabilities. It was originally named NARC (National Association for Retarded Citizens). -
Elementary and Secondary Act
ESEA was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. This law offered grants to districts serving low-income students, funding for special education centers, and scholarships for low-income students. In 2015, President Obama revised this law and changed it to ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act). -
The First Center for Independent Living
The first center for independent living was opened in 1972 in Berkeley, CA, by disability activist Ed Roberts. Up until this point, Berkeley students with disabilities were living in the Student Health Service Infirmary. Roberts was a professor at Berkeley who saw that his disabled students needed a place to live independently with peer support and role modeling, and he acted on it. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was passed to prohibit the discrimination of disabled people in federally assisted programs and activities. Not only are people with disabilities protected under this section, but the people associated with them as well. This section will make it possible for disabled children to go to general education schools with non-disabled students.
[https://youtu.be/GnVInDoXitU] -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
EAHCA required that all public schools accepting federal funding must provide disabled children with equal access to education. Schools were also required to evaluate children with disabilities and create an education plan with the parents that is as close as possible to the education of their non-disabled peers. This concept is the first step to disabled children learning in the least restrictive environment (LRE) as possible. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
IDEA is a law put into effect in 1990 that made a free appropriate public education available to eligible children with disabilities. This law ensures special education and related services to those children with disabilities, specific to the child. The 6 core principles of IDEA are zero reject, FAPE, LRE, nondiscriminatory evaluation, parent & family right to confidentiality, and procedural safeguards. -
No Child Left Behind Act
George W. Bush signed NCLBA into law on Jan. 8th, 2002. It was the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Act. This act required all states to develop evaluations in basic skills for each grade, the results of which would determine which schools were eligible for federal funding. Each state had to establish a timeline for yearly progress to ensure that ALL students would meet or exceed state standards no later than 12 years later (2001-2012).
