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Pennsylvania Training School
Founded by Dr. Alfred Elwyn, the Pennsylvania Training School for Idiotic and Feeble-Minded Children was one of America's first schools for intellectually disabled children. Although it was founded as a private school, commonwealth provided $10,000 in funding. This marked the turning point of viewing mental retardation as not just a family and community issue, but a national responsibility. -
Association of Medical Officers
In 1876, the AMO was formed with an objective of understanding the conditions and causal factors of idiocy. With that understanding, they aimed to train and educate those labeled as idiots or feebleminded. Now known as the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), it is the largest interdisciplinary organization focused on intellectual and developmental disabilities. Historical Medical Library -
Public Law 85-926
Prior to Public Law 85-926, relatively few colleges and universities reported course work in mental retardation. Created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Public Law 85-926 was passed with the goal of expanding the education of mentally retarded children. This law facilitated the training of university faculty and researchers in serving students with mental retardation. -
ACLD
Before its establishment, parents expressed increasing concerns regarding the lack of resources to address their disabled children's needs. In 1963, a group of professionals and parents hosted a conference discussing these issues; in the following year, the ACLD was formed. It is now called the Learning Disabilities Association (LDA), and it is dedicated to ensuring that all families with disabled children receive any necessary services. -
PARC vs. Commonwealth
On January 7, 1971, many parents with disabled children filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PARC accused the Commonwealth of unfairly labeling certain students as unable to be taught and denying such students public education. On October 8, 1971, the court entered a consent decree that declared several state laws unconstitutional and required all students ages 6-21 to be placed in a publicly funded educational environment. -
Reagan Attacks IDEA
Following Ronald Reagan's presidential election, his administration aimed to eliminate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and end the federal government's oversight of students with disabilities. Because this oversight ensured that students received Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), Reagan's proposed changes caused public outcry from parents with disabled children, as well as disability activists. -
Board of Education vs. Rowley
Amy Rowley was a deaf student who attended Furnace Woods School. The school's administrators refused to provide her a language interpreter, arguing that she was capable of succeeding without one. Amy's parents sued the school for violating the Education of All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) of 1975. However, the court ruled that an interpreter was not required because the act required schools to educate disabled students just as they would non-disabled students. -
Fighting for IDEA
In the early 1980s, when the Reagan Administration threatened disabled children's rights, disability activists Patrisha Wright and Evan Kamp started a letter-writing campaign that collected over 40,000 letters from concerned Americans who pled to keep the IDEA intact. This campaign initiated a multitude of protests at public hearing events. Wright and Kamp's efforts paid off when, in 1983, Vice President George H.W. Bush wrote a letter to Kamp declaring that the IDEA would remain unaltered. -
Public Law 99-457
Public Law 99-457 recognized the need for early intervention for children with disabilities. Thus, early intervention services were made available to infants and toddlers from birth to age two. This reauthorization also requires states to make free public education available to disabled children ages 3-5.