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Increased Numbers
Increasing number of students with disabilities being documented in the public school system due to more specific methods of identifying disabilities; many of these students were placed in segregated or locations, and those in the regular education classrooms often received negative treatment. -
Council for Exceptional Children Established
Council for Exceptional Children was established as a national organization advocating for students with special needs, including those with disabilities. The council which is carried out in support of special education professionals and professional development; advocating for newly and historically under-served individuals with exceptionalities; and assisting professionals achieve resources necessary for effective professional practice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjBuI6C_GfM -
Brown vs. Board of Education
First time that the law required schools to become racially integrated and established that separate education was not the same as equal education for students of color. Now acknowledged as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century, held that the racial segregation of children in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment -
Division of Handicapped Children and Youth Established
In 1963, Kennedy established the Division of Handicapped Children and Youth and revitalized the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped. He sent missions to study international programs for disabled children and pushed for greater rights for the disabled, especially those with mental disabilities. President John F. Kennedy whose interest in confronting the problems faced by disabled children was in large part driven by the fact that he had a mentally disabled sister. -
Christmas in Purgatory
Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan published a photographic expose entitled Christmas in Purgatory: A Photographic Essay on Mental Retardation that, for the first time, made the appalling conditions in residential facilities known to the public. Senator Robert Kennedy said that residents of these institutions were being denied equal access to education and deprived of their civil liberties. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Congress passes the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142, now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA) which specified that all children, regardless of disabilities, were entitled to a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. -
Handicapped Infants and Toddlers Program
Handicapped Infants and Toddlers Program (Public Law 99-457) created a new provision that covered children with disabilities from birth to age two and created statewide, comprehensive, coordinated services for infants and toddlers with disabilities. This federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth through age 2 years, and their families. -
IDEIA
Public Law 101-476 (IDEA), now Public Law 108-446 (IDEIA) emphasized rights in special education and if a child was not in a general education setting, the IEP was required to provide explanations as to why. Autism and TBI were added as disability categories, and LRE received more attention. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 was a law that focused on making American education available and accessible to students. -
Jacob Javits Act
Jacob Javits Act defined gifted and talented students as students with special needs but did not receive federal funding. The Javits Act, which was named after Senator Jacob Javits of New York for his role in promoting gifted education, defines talented and gifted students as those who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity or in specific academic fields. -
No Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a general education law establishing that children have the right to highly qualified content teachers as well as equal accountability and standards. This law let to high expectations for special education and inclusion in standardized assessment for most kids with special needs. The law held schools accountable for how kids learned and achieved. The law was controversial in part because it penalized schools that didn't show improvement.
