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American School for the Deaf
The American School for Deaf(ASD) was founded in 1817. It was the first permanent school for the deaf in the U.S. It had become a nationally acclaimed leader in providing extensive educational programs and services for the hard-of-hearing/deaf students. The ASD created American Sign Language, which had become a new regulated language. This resulted in a deaf culture/society that advances equality even in present day. -
Council for Exceptional Children
The council for exceptional children (CEC) was formed on February 22, 1922. The CFC was the first advocacy group. Their main objective is to make certain that children with special needs are able to obtain a free and relevant public education. The CEC is the largest professional international organization determined to improve the success of children youth with disabilities, gifts, and for talents. -
Brown v. Board of Education
On May 1, 1954, racial segregation in public schools was declared in court as a violation against the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This meant the end of legalized racial segragation in schools in the U.S. Resulting in the overrule of the Plessy v. Ferguson case, which is where the principle "separate but equal" originated from. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA), was created in 1965. Its purpose was to improve poor children's educational opportunities. The act was not created to aid every school, instead, it was formed to specifically target the local education agencies with the greatest amount of poor children, so they can receive the education that all children deserve. (watch corresponding video #2) -
PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The groundbreaking lawsuit, Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwelath of Pennsylvania, was in 1971. PARC was the first right-to-education suit in the United States, it was also the first to overturn Pennsylvania law while securing a quality and equal education for all children. The case was quickly settled in the U.S., which resulted in a consent decree where the state began to provide free education for children with mental retardation.
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Mills v. Board of Edu.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia(BEDC), Mills was a lawsuit brought to court on behalf of 7 children who were denied public education by the BEDC. The lawsuit stated that students with disabilities are entitled to an education and that it cannot be denied, regardless of the school's additional costs. -
First Center for Independent Living opens
Disability activists led by Ed Roberts created the first Center for Independent living in Berkeley, California, in 1972. Disabled students at the time slept in the Student Health Service infirmary as there was no housing for them. The independent living centers, which are administered and managed by people with disabilities, were developed to provide peer support and role modeling. There were hundreds of these facilities located all over the United States at the turn of the century. -
Handicapped Children’s Protection Act
In 1986, the Handicapped Children's Protection Act (HCPA) was created with the intention of helping kids with disabilities. It guarantees that children with disabilities, who are three, four, and five years old, would get a free, suitable public education, just like their classmates without disabilities. The Education for ALL Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), passed in 1975, is expanded upon by the HCPA. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
In 1990, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was implemented into law.
A civil rights legislation known as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) restricts discrimination against people with disabilities in all spheres of public life, including employment, education, transportation, and all public and private areas that are accessible to the general public.
Making sure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities and rights as everyone else is the goal of the legislation. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was updated in 2002 with the No Child Left Behind Law, which significantly increased the federal government's responsibility for holding schools accountable for student performance. It forced schools to pay greater attention to, support, and assist disadvantaged children. This law led to an increase in the graduation rate for students with specific learning disabilities, which rose from 57% in 2002 to 68% in 2011.