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First Special Education School in U.S.
Originally called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, it is now the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. It was founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, Dr. Mason Cogswell, and Laurent Clerc. It was a state-funded school shortly after opening. Read more here:
http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/dhm/edu/essay.html?id=38 -
Council for the Education of Exceptional Children
Administrators and supervisors at Teachers College at Columbia University help start the council. Their goal is to help better the education of students with disabilities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKbbhtkUMBc -
First special education class in Jacksonville opened
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Brown V. Board of Education
This court case called to desegregate schools. Black Americans were still dealing with people seeing their intelligence as inferior. The case decided all children deserved an equal right to education. Although this does not directly relate to special education, it did open the doors for other students perceived as different. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This law mandated that all students, despite their differences, have the right to a free public school education. Educators are required to come up with an educational plan that tries not to deviate too much from the standard curriculum. This act also gave parents and guardians the right to question the decisions being made about their child's education. Students with disabilities were also required not to be too secluded from the rest of the students (the ability to interact with all students). -
Americans with Disabilities Act
This civil rights law protects the rights of Americans with disabilities. It prohibits the discrimination of these people. These people must have the same accessibility to many public services, including education. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
This act was reformulated from the EHA. It adds more content regarding the inclusion of children with disabilities into standard classes. It also helped parents with more rights regarding educational decisions for their children. This act introduced the individualized education program to help plan the needs of each child. -
No Child Left Behind Act
This act also required those with special education needs mild enough not to be exempt from testing. It required 100% of students (including special education students) to hit state standards in reading and math by 2014. -
Florida & self-determination instruction
"Florida became the first state in the nation to require self-determination instruction or information for students with disabilities." -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004
IDEA is an extension of of the EAHCA. It was changed to fortify the rights of children with disabilities. This included adding federal standards to special education and made federal funding conditional on this. They added individualized transition plans for when high school is complete. They also included autism and traumatic brain injury students to be covered in this law.
