HISTORY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION

By jar70

  • 1840 - COMPULSORY EDUCATION

    Rhode Island passes the first compulsory education law. Education is a state, not a federal matter. Despite the law’s passage, disabled learners are still excluded from public education (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1859 - ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES published

    Mid 1800's society sought ways to explain, control, and
    eliminate disability. Darwin’s conclusions about the animal world in On the Origin of Species (1859) were broadly applied to human society with negative repercussions both in the treatment and education of people with disabilities (Spaulding & Pratt, 2015).

  • 1893 - WATSON V. CITY OF CAMBRIDGE

    In 1893 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a child who was "weak in mind" and could not benefit from instruction, was troublesome to other children, and was unable to take "ordinary, decent, physical care of himself" could be expelled from public school (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1910 - WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON CHILDREN

    One goal of this conference was to define and establish remedial programs for children with disabilities or special needs. This goal reflected a broader societal shift in perspective on the treatment of children with disabilities; the number of special segregated classes and support services increased significantly from 1910 to 1930 (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1933 - CUYAHOGA COUNTY OHIO COUNCIL FOR THE RETARDED CHILD

    First organized advocacy group. Parents began to band together as a support for one another and in order to work for change. Group consisted initially of five mothers of children with mental retardation who banded together to protest the exclusion of their children from school (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1954 - BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

    A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that American state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. The Court's unanimous (9–0) decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," and therefore violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1972- PARC V. COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

    All children with mental retardation between the ages of 6 and 21 years must be provided a free public education and that it was most desirable to educate children with mental retardation in a program most like the programs provided for their nondisabled peers (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1972 - MILLS V. BOARD OF EDUCATION

    Mandated that the board provide all children with disabilities a publicly supported education. In addition, the court ordered the district to provide due process safeguards. The court outlined due process procedures for labeling, placement, and exclusion of students with disabilities (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1973 - SECTION 504 OF REHABILITATION ACT

    Section 504 civil rights declaration was the first major effort to protect persons with disabilities against discrimination based on their disabilities. Also prohibited discrimination against a person with a disability by any agency receiving federal funds (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1975 - THE EDUCATION FOR ALL HANDICAPPED CHILDREN ACT

    Provided federal funding to states to assist in educating students with disabilities; mandated that qualified students with disabilities had the right to (a) nondiscriminatory testing, evaluation, and placement procedures; (b) be educated in the least restrictive environment; (c) procedural due process, including parent involvement; (d) a free education; (e) an appropriate education. Individualized Education Program (IEP) created from act (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1990 - THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT (IDEA)

    For a child to qualify, their issues must fall under one of the 13 disability categories that IDEA covers. IDEA provides rights and protections to children with disabilities and to their parents. As a result of the disability child needs special education services in school (Yell, Rodgers, & Rodgers, 1998).

  • 1990 - AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)

    The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.