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American Asylum for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb
Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet becomes principal of the American Asylum for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, the first residential school in the U.S. -
Edward Seguin: Physiological Method
Edouard Seguin is considered the first great teacher in the field of disabilities. He improved upon Itard's method of sensory training. While he worked as a director at the school for "idiots" in the Salpetriere asylum, Seguin saw the potential benefits of a physiological method in treating mental retardation. He believed that mental deficiency was caused by a weakness of the nervous system, and could be cured through a process of motor and sensory training. -
Mandatory Public Education
Massachusetts became the first U.S. state to enact a compulsory education law in 1852, having already passed a similar law in 1647 when it was still a British colony. The 1852 law required every city and town to offer primary school, focusing on grammar and basic arithmetic. Parents who refused to send their children to school were fined and (in some cases) stripped of their parental rights, and their children apprenticed to others. -
Pestalozzi, Rousseau, and Froebel: The European Influence
Established the concept of hands on object centered learning. -
PL 85-926 Training of Professional Personnel
One of the early enactments focusing on training special education teachers. Grants provided to universities and state education agencies for training leadership personnel in the education of children with mental retardation. Created principle
of categorical support for individuals with a specific disability. -
PL 87-276 Teachers of the Deaf Act
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. In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (PL 89-10) and the State Schools Act (PL 89-313) granted funds to states to help educate children with disabilities. -
PL 88-452 Economic Opportunity Act
Established the Office of Economic Opportunity, which developed and administered Project Head Start. Required local communities to create agencies to coordinate programs and funding of Head Start. -
PL 89-10 The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This law brought education into the forefront of the national assault on poverty and represented a landmark commitment to equal access to quality education. ESEA is an extensive statute that funds primary and secondary education, emphasizing high standards and accountability. As mandated in the act, funds are authorized for professional development, instructional materials, resources to support educational programs, and the promotion of parental involvement. -
PL 89-313 Aid for Handicapped Children in State Institutions
Amended Title I of ESEA. Authorized funding for children with disabilities served in state-operated schools and facilities. -
PL 89-750 Amendments to PL 89-10. Education for Handicapped Children
Amendments to PL 89-10. Funding given to state education agencies to improve and expand programs serving preschoolers as well as elementary and secondary pupils with disabilities. Created a national advisory committee on children with exceptionalities, and established the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (BEH). -
PL 90-538 Handicapped Children’s Early Education Assistance Act of 1968
The Handicapped Children's Early Education Assistance Act of 1968 established 75 to 100 model programs for preschool handicapped children. Major provisions of the law are summarized, including those for program development and implementation; parent, community, and professional education; and program evaluation. -
PL 91-230 Elementary and Secondary Act Amendments of 1969
Extended and amended the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965. Consolidated existing legislation pertaining to children with disabilities, creating the Education of the Handicapped Act. Established a legislative definition of learning disabilities, as well as model education centers for pupils with learning disabilities. Recognized special needs of gifted and talented students. -
PL 92-424 Economic Opportunity Act Amendments of 1972
Established a preschool mandate that not less than 10% of the total number of Head Start placements be reserved for children with disabilities. -
PL 93-112 Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Aimed at protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities finally adopted in 1977. Covers both school-age children and adults. Prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs solely on the basis of disability. Guarantees nondiscrimination in employment practices and architectural
accessibility. Prohibits excluding students from a program simply for lack of appropriate services. -
PL 93-380 Education Amendments of 1974
Amendments to ESEA; forerunner to PL 94-142. Enacted in response to right to education litigation. States required to plan for educating all children with disabilities. Addresses education within the least restrictive environment, nondiscriminatory testing and evaluation, due process procedures, and funding of programs for students who are gifted. -
PL 94-142 Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This act required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education and one free meal a day for children with physical and mental disabilities. Public schools were required to evaluate children with disabilities and create an educational plan with parent input that would emulate as closely as possible the educational experience of non-disabled students. -
PL 98-199 Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1983
Amended PL 90-538. Grants to states for developing and implementing plans for serving young children with special needs, beginning at birth. Allowed states to use Preschool Incentive Grant funds for serving children with disabilities younger than age 3. Established new programs for transitioning secondary students from
school to adulthood. Created National Clearinghouse on Postsecondary Education. -
1986 Amendments (PL 99-457) to Education for the Handicapped Act
Public Law 99-457 is the result of amendments by the United States Congress, in 1986, to the Education of the Handicapped Act. Public Law 99-457 added preschool children to the Public Law 91-230 provisions. -
PL 101-336 Americans with Disabilities Act
A reaffirmation of the rights of individuals with disabilities, modeled after Section 504. Extended civil rights protection in private sector employment, all public services, public accommodation, transportation, and telecommunications. Employers must provide modifications or specialized equipment as necessary for
workers with disabilities. Public school buildings must be accessible, as well as day care centers and family day care centers. -
PL 101-392 Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act
Provided equal access to the full range of vocational education programs for students with disabilities. -
PL 101-476 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Changed the name of the Education of the Handicapped Act and its amendments to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), incorporating “people first” language. Added two new categories of disability eligible for service: autism and traumatic brain injury. Required the inclusion of a plan for transition services as
part of students’ individualized education programs. -
PL 102-119 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments
Reauthorized and extended Part H of PL 99-457. Changed terminology of various provisions and modified how services are to be provided. -
PL 103-227 Goals 2000: Educate America Act
Funding for the development and implementation of eight broad national goals aimed at reforming education, to be achieved by the year 2000. -
PL 107-110 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
Represents a major effort at educational reform and increased accountability. Proficiency in math, reading, and science expected of all children, including students with special needs. Teachers expected to be highly qualified in their subject area. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
The re authorization of IDEA unveiled a new model (Response to Intervention) of student identification. RTI places responsibility on General Education teachers in terms of data collection and generally does not include the special education administrator. -
State Credentialing Requirements for Administrators of Special Education
Unlike data that show that all states require credentials for special education teachers, national data indicate that only 27 states require licensure/certification/endorsement as an administrator of special education. The titles used by states to identify the local director of special education include administrator of special education, director of special education, director of pupil personnel services or pupil special education, and director of exceptional needs. -
Trump Administration ‘Rethinking’ Special Ed
A framework released details a commitment from the Education Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to “rethink anything and everything” in a quest to meet the office’s mission “to improve early childhood, educational and employment outcomes and raise expectations for all people with disabilities, their families, their communities and the nation.”
