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Possible beginning of special education
Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, a physician, studied a patient who had been previously described as "an incurable idiot with no chance for improvement or education" and tried to help educate him. Although the interventions did not help this patient, they ulitmately laid the groundwork for future interventions. http://www.museumofdisability.org/original_pantheon_itard.asp -
American School for the Deaf
ASD was established in 1817 in Hartford. Connecticut and is the first permanent school for students who are deaf. The school’s vision is to be a “premier comprehensive center providing education and resources for deaf and hard of hearing individuals, their families and educational partners in Connecticut and beyond.”
http://www.asd-1817.org/ -
Perkins School for the Blind
The first blind school was founded in the United States and is called Perkins School for the Blind. "The school is committed to providing education and services that build productive, meaningful lives for children and adults around the world who are blind or deafblind, including those with disabilities." One faamous person who studied here was Helen Keller. This school provided students with hearing differences a place to study. http://www.perkins.org -
Columbia Institute for Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind
President Abraham Lincoln signed the law that this institute could offer college degrees to its students. Gallaudet University, as it is named now, is a bilingual University that uses English and American Sign Language to educate the students that are deaf or hard of hearing.
http://www.gallaudet.edu/ -
Indiana Marriage Law
Governor Hanly signed a law that would not allow people with disabilities to get married. The law refused the issuance of marriage licenses to “imbeciles, epileptics and those of unsound minds.” This took away the freedom of people with disabilities to be married and have the benefits of those who were not disabled.
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1829 . -
1907 Indiana Eugenics Law
Indiana was the first state to have an approved eugenics law signed that required mandatory forced sterilizations of specific people in the state's custody including those believed to be “idiots, feeble minded, and imbeciles.” People with disabilities lost the ability to decide to reproduce or not. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1829 -
Repeal of Sterilization Act
The Supreme Court ruled that the Sterilization Act of 1907 was unconstitutional because it did not provide due process of law. This was a great success for people with disabilities because they had the choice of reproducing or not and did not have to endure a forced sterilization against their will.
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1829 -
Brown Vs. Board of Education
This court case ruled racial segregation in schools unconstitutional and that it would need to cease in public schools. Because of this case, schools later could not segregate based on disabilities. http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown.html
image http://kwanzaaguide.com/2011/03/the-promise-and-problematic-of-brown-v-board-of-education-part-one/ -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
This Act was written and put into place by President Johnson to provide money to schools to help get rid of poverty. It contained numerous Titles within the Act including Title I which provides money for poverty-stricken students. This Act also helped establish bureaus that worked to obtain the most amount of federal aid which ultimately would lead to increase funding and mandated education for students with disabilities. http://www.archives.nysed.gov/edpolicy/altformats/ed_background_overvi -
Hobson vs. Hansen
This court case determined that the tracking system that was in place in public schools often invalid. The system was found to have "positive correlations between tracks and socioeconomic status and race." Tracking also limited students to lower levels in schools because they were often placed in their "track" early on and never retested. Students were often placed in special education when it wasn't necessary. http://www.mnddc.org/parallels2/pdf/70s/76/76-PEC-CEC.pdf -
Larry P. vs. Riles
This court case determined that IQ tests were culturally biased and discriminated against poor black students thus leading to inappropriate placement in special education. Now, IQ tests must be non-discriminatory and can't be the only assessment. http://ca.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19791016_0000044.NCA.htm/qx -
Diana vs. State Board of Education
This was a case where a non-English speaking student was assessed using an English assessment test and ultimately mislabeled as being mentally retarded and placed into special education unnecessarily. The court decided that students cannot be placed in special education based solely on an assessment not in their native language. Ultimately, this ended up being one of IDEAs 6 principles.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/education/CMMR/FullText/ELLs_in_California_Schools.pdf -
PARC vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
This landmark case decided that schools could not discriminate against students who were mentally retarded and that all students were to be given the opportunity for free and public education. http://www.mnddc.org/parallels2/pdf/70s/76/76-PEC-CEC.pdf
image: http://www.parc-fl.org/Default.aspx -
504 Plan of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
The 504 plan was enacted to eliminate any discrimination of people who had defined disabilities in any public place including schools, organizations, and employment. This plan allowed for students to get the necessary accommodations for success and avoid discrimination because of their disability. http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/resources/factsheets/504.pdf
imagehttp://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/disabilities/sect504 -
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
This is a federal law that allows parents the ability to access their student’s educational records until the student is 18. At 18, the rights are transferred to the student if deemed appropriate. This also requires the school to get parental permission to release any non-directory information. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html
image http://www.blinn.edu/personnel/training/11-6-08/11-6-08_print.html -
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act 1975
This is also known as Public Law 94-142 and guarantees every student with a disability a free, public education and has 4 main principles. These included: assuring the unique needs of each student were met, protect the rights of parents and students, assist the states to ensure education for all, and assess the effectiveness of the services provided.
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.pdf -
Marriage License Repeal
The original clause stating marriage licenses were not allowed to be given to “imbeciles” was eliminated. Previous to this change, other statements of the law were removed as well. This now gave people with disabilities the ability to marry just like others without disabilities. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1829 -
Stuart vs. Nappi
This was a court case involving a female high school student with defined learning/behavior problems as well as low intelligence who had been involved in multiple “school-wide disturbances.” According to the Handicapped Children Act she could not get expelled from school. The court’s decision said that students are not “immune” from discipline but should be placed in the least restrictive environment meaning they can be transferred elsewhere http://alpha.fdu.edu/psychology/suspension_notes -
Handicapped Children's Protection Act
This became a law under EAHCA and was a huge victory for students with disabilities and their parents. This law stated that funds will be provided to the agencies where students with disabilities were being educated. It also said that parents had a right to be involved in the individual education planning (IEP) of their student and if they felt it was incomplete or they were unhappy they were entitled to a hearing to discuss it
http://www.civilrights.org -
Timothy W. vs. Rochester School
In this case, the school tried to decide that the student did not qualify for special education because they believed he wouldn’t benefit from it. Under IDEA, no student is “too disabled” to benefit from school. One of the six principles is Zero Reject and education must be provided to every student no matter the disability.
http://www.kidslegalaid.org/attorneys/rights/rights_pdfs/idea.pdf -
Americans with Disabilities Act 1990
This is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination because of a disability. It also adopted Section 504 which allows students who do not qualify under IDEA to get necessary services. http://www.ldonline.org/article/6108/
image:http://www.uwosh.edu/ada-employees/ -
Idividuals with Disabilities Education Act 1990
EAHCA was renamed to this and amended with various changes including having students in their least restrictive education environments, using non-biased assessments, having active parental involvement, and one of the biggest changes: including transition plans on students’ IEPs. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.pdf
image:http://blog.yellincenter.com/2010/07/happy-anniversary-ada.html -
IDEA reauthorized 1997
New amendments were made to the original IDEA of 1990 and these included the IEP team now required a general education classroom teacher to be on the team, students with disabilities were given higher expectations and placed in general education classrooms, they were required to take the same assessments as their non-disabled peers, and parental involvement was increased.
http://www.socialworkers.org/archives/advocacy/updates/1997/idea.htm
image:http://www2.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/Policy/IDEA -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) 2001
This law was a reauthorization of ESEA and was aimed to help disadvantaged students and to make states more accountable for the progress in schools. It also made it a requirement that all students (abled and disabled) be tested and proficient in math and reading by 2014. This is very controversial!
http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/no-child-left-behind/
image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act -
IDEA 2004
This was a reauthorization of IDEA 1997 and allows for intervention before a student actually fails. The 4 sections include: defining disability, providing money to the states for support, providing early intervention for toddlers and infants with disabilities, and providing accountability feedback and data. It also helped keep students out of special education by providing appropriate interventions.
http://www.ldonline.org/features/idea2004/
image:idea.ed.gov -
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007
This act was a formal government plan that mimicked Dr. Robert Guthrie’s original PKU (phenylketonuria) test for newborns. This is an inexpensive, quick test that provides doctors with information PKU levels which if low could lead to brain damage and ultimately mental retardation. The great thing about this test is that if the PKU levels are low, doctors are able to treat it. http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/s1858
image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Phenylketonuria_testing.jpg
