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Early on
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Federal government began to develop and validate practices
for children with disabilities and their families. These
practices, in turn, laid the foundation for implementing
effective programs and services of early intervention
and special education in states and localities across
the country -
Captioned Films Act
Captioned Films Acts of 1958
(PL 85-905), the training provisions for teachers of
students with mental retardation (PL 85-926) -
Training of Professional Personnel Act
Helped train leaders to educate children with
mental retardation -
Before the enactment of Public Law 94-142
Before the enactment of Public Law 94-142, the fate of
many individuals with disabilities was likely to be dim.
Too many individuals lived in state institutions for persons with mental retardation or mental illness. -
Captioned Films Act
(PL 87-715), which supported the production and distribution of accessible films; -
Teacher of the Deaf Act
(PL 87-276), trained instructional
personnel for children who were deaf or hard of hearing -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act & The State Schools Act
Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (PL 89-10) and the State Schools Act
(PL 89-313) provided states with direct grant assistance
to help educate children with disabilities. -
Early on
In 1967,
for example, state institutions were homes for almost
200,000 persons with significant disabilities. Many of
these restrictive settings provided only minimal food,
clothing, and shelter. -
Before IDEA
children with special needs were denied access to education -
U.S. Schools
educated only 1 in 5 children with disabilities -
Before IDEA
Inaccurate tests led to inappropriately labeling
and ineffectively educating most children with disabilities. -
Handicapped Children’s Early Education Assistance Act of 1968 and the Economic Opportunities Amendments
Handicapped Children’s Early Education Assistance Act
of 1968 (PL 90-538) and the Economic Opportunities
Amendments (PL 92-424) authorized support
for, respectively, exemplary early childhood programs
and increased Head Start enrollment for young children
with disabilities. -
Congress enacted the Education for all handicapped children act
-
Now known as IDEA
Currently enacted as the Individuals with disabilities education act (IDEA) -
1980's
saw a national concern for
young children with disabilities and their families. -
1986 Amendments
Mandated that states provide programs and services from birth.
Through such sustained Federal leadership, the United States today is the world leader in early
intervention and preschool programs for infants, toddlers,
and preschool children with disabilities. These programs
prepare young children with disabilities to meet the
academic and social challenges that lie ahead of them,
both while in school and in later life. -
IDEA 1997
Mandates that schools
report progress to parents of children with disabilities as
frequently as they report to parents of non-disabled
children. The overall goal is to maintain an equal and
respectful partnership between schools and families. -
In today's world
Early intervention program services are provided to almost 200,000 infants -
In today's world
Nearly 6 million youth receive special education and related services -
In today's world
Today, hundreds of thousands
of professionals specializing in early childhood and
special education are being trained with IDEA support.
These professionals include early intervention staff,
classroom teachers, therapists, counselors, psychologists,
program administrators, and other professionals who
will work with future generations of children with
disabilities and their families