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Perkins School for the Blind
Samuel Gridley Howe opened the first school for the blind in the US. He developed an embossed letter system, which was used until Braille became popular in the late 1800s. Howe also worked with deaf students, using a method called oralism. Howe worked with famed students including Laura Bridgman and Helen Keller. Learn more at: https://www.perkins.org/history -
Gallaudet University
Originally named the National Deaf Mute College, Gallaudet opened in 1864 in Washington DC. This was and continues to be the only American university specifically for deaf and hard of hearing people. Gallaudet has contributed to the rights of the Deaf community into the 21st century. Learn more at: https://www.gallaudet.edu/about/who-we-are -
Volta Laboratory
Alexander Graham Bell founded the Volta Laboratory, which served as an information center for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Like some physicians and politicians at the time, Bell supported eugenics as a means of eliminating disabilities. Eugenics was the misguided belief that controlling genetics could improve the human race. National Park Service (2017). Disability history: educational reform. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/articles/disabilityhistoryedreform.htm -
The Montana State Training School
Built in the 1910s, this state-funded school provided education, treatment, and residential housing for children with intellectual disabilities. The physicians of the Montana State Training School also practiced forced sterilization, a common practice in the early 1900s. National Park Service (2017). Disability history: educational reform. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/articles/disabilityhistoryedreform.htm -
Easterseals
Founded in 1919 as the National Society for Crippled Children, Easterseals is America’s largest nonprofit health care organization. Easterseals provides disability services to people with disabilities and special needs in their local communities. Since its founding the organization has expanded over 75 locations. Video: https://youtu.be/FxbWpraue3k -
Brown v Board of Education
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that separate schooling for African American children was not an equal education because separate educational facilities were inherently unequal. This decision created a significant opportunity for disability advocates to begin the fight for equality for individuals with disabilities. Video: https://youtu.be/1siiQelPHbQ -
Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Ten years after Brown v Board of Education, Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, mandating that any Federal program or activity cannot exclude individuals based on race, color, or national origin. National Park Service (2017). Disability history: educational reform. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/articles/disabilityhistoryedreform.htm -
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Advocates and parents of children with disabilities fought for the equal access to education. They not only sought for the right to attend school, but also the right to participate in and benefit from a quality education. National Park Service (2017). Disability history: educational reform. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/articles/disabilityhistoryedreform.htm -
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
In 1972, the court determined that local laws that excluded children with disabilities from public schools were a violation of the Constitution. This decision helped to lay the groundwork to establish the right of students with disabilities to access public education. National Park Service (2017). Disability history: educational reform. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/articles/disabilityhistoryedreform.htm -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was the first disability civil rights law to be enacted in the US. It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all federally funded programs. It also set the stage for enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (2019). Section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973. Retrieved from https://dredf.org/legal-advocacy/laws/section-504-of-the-rehabilitation-act-of-1973/ -
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American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD)
ACCD took a leading role in the national effort to force implementation of Section 504 and the Education of all Handicapped Children Act of 1975. ACCD rose to significance in 1977 when the group led sit-ins across 10 cities to force the federal government to issue long-overdue rules to carry out Section 504. Historical Society of Pennsylvania (2019). American coalition of citizens with disabilities (accd). Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/articles/disabilityhistoryedreform.htm -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) mandated free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities, and the provision of special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. -
Roncker v. Walter
One of the first court cases that addressed the Least Restrictive Environment, which led to the development of a two-part test to guide appropriate placement students with disabilities: 1. Could the educational services be feasibly provided in a nonsegregated setting? and 2. Is the student being mainstreamed to the maximum extent appropriate? Yell, Mitchell L. (2012) The Law and Special Education: Third Addition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 2004
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was enacted in 1997 and reauthorized by Congress in 2004. Each amendment required states that accepted IDEA funding are identifying students who are eligible for special education services and providing a free and appropriate public education, and that they do so in the least restrictive environment (LRE).
