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START
In 1817 the first special education school in the United States, the American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb (now called the American School for the Deaf), was established in Hartford, Connecticut, by Gallaudet. -
PL 85-926 in 1958
Public Law 85-926 authorized an appropriation of $1 million per year for the preparation of professional personnel in the education of the mentally retarded -
Public Law 86-158 IN 1959
Professional Personnel Act of 1959, Public Law 86-158, increased the types and amount of training individuals received in learning how to educate children with mental retardation. -
PL 87-276 in 1961
In 1961, the Teachers of the Deaf Act (PL 87-276) provided for training of teachers to work with the deaf or hard of hearing -
P.L 89-10 in 1965
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) (P.L. 89-10) was enacted by the U.S. Congress on April 9, 1965, as part of President Lyndon B. ... This resulted in the expansion of state departments of education, and a greater role for the states in making education policy. -
PL 90-538 in 1968
On September 30, 1968, President Johnson signed into law a landmark for special education-a land- mark because it was the first time in history that Congress approved an action exclusively for the education of all of the handicapped without attaching it to any other legislation. -
1971
A landmark court decisions established the responsibility of states to educate children with disabilities (in particular, Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Commonwealth (1971) -
1972
Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia (1972)) -
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-112) (Rehab. Act), as amended, as these sections will appear in volume 29 of the United States Code, beginning at section 791. Section 501 prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the federal sector. Section 505 contains provisions governing remedies and attorney's fees under Section 501. Relevant definitions that apply to sections 501 and 505 follow these sections. -
1975
November 29, 1975, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. n 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) Public Law 94-142 established the right of children with disabilities to receive a free, appropriate public education and provided funds to enable state and local education agencies to comply with the new requirements. The act stated that its purpose was fourfold: -
In the family
My older cousin was born with birth defects and he did not go to school because he was different. His parents are financially able to take care of him but in the 70's in the Philippines, they did not have resources to have him in school. He has the biggest heart, he always wanted to be surrounded with people, and our big family kept him busy. -
1986 reauthorization
The 1986 reauthorization (Public Law 99-457) addressed early intervention and mandated that individual states provide services to families of children born with disabilities from the time they are born. -
1990 IDEA created
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, was created in 1990 and is a modification of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This law ensures that special needs students receive appropriate free public education in the least restrictive environment necessary to meet those students’ needs. -
IDEA 1997
The IDEA Amendments of 1997 allow a school to place a child with a disability in an interim alternative educational setting for not more than forty-five days if the student has been involved with drugs or weapons. -
No Child Left Behind 2001
-Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as the No Child Left Behind Act, called for schools to be accountable for academic performance of all students, with or w/o disabilities.
-act requires schools in every state to develop routine assessments of students’ academic skills.
-provides incentives for schools to demonstrate progress in students with special needs.
-allows for students to seek alternative options if schools are not meeting their academic, social or emotional needs. -
ADHD
When my son was 15, he was diagnosed with ADHD. We had to make a decision if we should medicate him to help him at school. It took a lot of trying the natural avenue to help him and we educated ourselves enough before making the decision. We kept him busy with sports and to write down his priority. When he forgets what he needed to do we worked through them and stayed positive.
Everything we did make him feel at ease and comfortable to talk about his diagnosis. -
Law 114-95 in 2015
Congress reauthorized the IDEA in 2004 and most recently amended the IDEA through Public Law 114-95, the Every Student Succeeds Act, in December 2015. -
First experienced in class
First time co-teaching class that had a student with autism. She was nonverbal and hardly participated in PE. This was a zoom class that came with challenges but it we were able to communicate with her each other by chatting-typing. Parents were surprise that her participation increased. She loved to draw and show and tell was one of the way to have her come out of her shyness. -
Be an advocate!
This school year, I have a student who is in my class that needs an aide. Due to some issues with the school politics. He does not have one but the school is working on logistics. Most of the time he would go off on his own during my lesson and eat random stuff he can find. With a class of 40 I could not keep an eye on him but I kept a journal on my concerns. This journal was sent to his counselor and now he is diagnosed with PICA. I hope my action will get him an aide ASAP. -
Working progress
Learning about special education is very complex. It takes patience and love to make sure we are doing everything we can as educators to help our students through their journey.