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The International Council for the Education of Exceptional Children is founded.
The International Council for the Education of Exceptional Children is created by a group of 12 education professionals attending a summer session at Teachers College, Columbia University. Now simply known as the Council for Exceptional Children, the organization as been tireless advocates for children with special needs, helping to guide appropriate policy and pass beneficial legislation.
https://www.cec.sped.org -
The Willowbrook State School opened.
The Willowbrook School was a state- run institution on Staten Island, New York for children with intellectual disabilities. Its atrocious treatment of children and individuals with intellectual disabilities was a national disgrace and fueled improved policies to protect the disabled. The legislation included the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 and the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980. Public outrage led to its long overdue closure in 1987. -
Brown V. Board of Education
The groundbreaking legislative decision declaring segregation in public schools unconstitutional paved the way for future legislation addressing the rights of students with disabilities and special needs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkuiMr2tLJE -
Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Amendment to the Social Security Act
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/address-to-the-national-association-for-retarded-children.
President John Kennedy commissioned a panel to address the needs of those living with intellectual disabilities and then used their report as guide for the first major legislation to focus on those needs. It included initiatives to move towards community centered agencies and away from custodial institutions. -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
The ESEA was a critical piece of President Johnsons "War on Poverty". The ESEA highlighted accountability, high standards and provided funding to improve instructional materials, educational programs and support parental involvement. It also provided funding for professional development for educators. The ESEA has been reauthorized every five years since its initial passage. -
ESEA 1969 Amendments
The amendments to the ESEA signed by President Nixon in 1969 improved the legislation by expanding its reach. Title II provided funding for children who were refugee's or living in low-income public housing, Title VI earmarked funds for the education of individuals with disabilities and Title VII strengthened the Vocational Education Act of 1963. Additionally, Title VIII established a definition of gifted and talented for the education setting. -
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protects the rights of students with disabilities in programs that receive federal funds.(e.g. schools) The law states that no person can be denied benefits or be discriminated against due to their disability by any program or activity that receives funding from the Department of Education. The law is enforced by the Office of Civil Rights. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
The precursor to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, this law signed by President Ford in 1975 includes a specific provision for students who are disabled to be placed in the least restrictive environment possible. It further directs that the environment be favorable for them to interact and socialize with their non-disabled peers as much as possible. -
Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowely
The case was brought regarding whether additional services, namely a sign language interpreter for a hearing-impaired child was an accommodation covered as part of the free appropriate public education(FAPE) under the EAHCA. The kindergartener had been provided an FM hearing aid able to effectively communicate with her teacher and peers. The court ruled that denial of an interpreter did not violate the students rights under EAHCA. -
The Willowbrook State School closed.
The Willowbrook State School closed with a tragic record. The abuse and mistreatment of the patients included scientific experiments where they where children were infected Hepatitis. While the horrors were discovered years earlier, it took until 1987 to for the school to finally close completely.
https://timeline.com/willowbrook-the-institution-that-shocked-a-nation-into-changing-its-laws-c847acb44e0d -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Originating with EAHCA, IDEA stipulates that any child with an identified disability is entitled to receive special education and all related services to meet their needs. It is designed to reinforce the guarantee of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment(LRE) to all children with disabilities. Additionally, it provides a legal protection of the rights of the children and their families. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
This law added additional funding and improved policies to the original IDEA. It specifically stipulates the ability of school districts to use the response-to-intervention (RTI) to identify students with learning disabilities prior to an extreme achievement gap. Additionally, it added policies to help avoid an inordinate amount of minority representation within special education classes. -
Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1
Endrew F. was an autistic 5th grade student who parents had placed him in a private school because they felt his public education was inadequate.The court affirmed that under IDEA schools must provide an education that is "reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate " given their individual circumstances. The court held that the correct standard under IDEA more substantially demanding than a step above the minimum.
