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First Special Education School in U.S.
The American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb in Hartford, Connecticut, was the first school to offer education to individuals with disabilities, specifically those that were deaf. The school expanded to Alabama soon after its opening to provide education for more Americans with disabilities. The opening of this school also accounts for the first time education for Americans with disabilities was publicly funded. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
The court ultimately ruled that the idea of "separate but equal" had no place in schools. This was the first time that the federal government advocated for students experiencing inequality and segregation in schools. This court case paved the way for many events leading to the civil rights movement. Link text -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This act was passed to help students that came from disadvantaged background. It established the free and reduced lunch program for children to be fed throughout the day and truly benefit from the instruction. ESEA has been revisited multiple times throughout the years, with former presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan both amending it during their presidencies.
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Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
The court case regarding PARC and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania stated that students with mental retardation could not be discriminated in schools. It also provided all students with such disability access to public free education. This court ruling actually became part of the base for the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. -
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This act is also known as Public Law 94-124, and it required states to provide students from ages 5 to 18 with free and appropriate education. The law also called for individualized education programs, or IEPs. This was the first time that a least restrictive environment was defined and put into place for students with disabilities. -
The Vocational Rehabilitation Act
This act, also known as Public Law 93-112 Section 504, prohibited discrimination in federally funded programs based on disability, whereas the ADA targeted discrimination in the public sphere. The VRA also defined what it meant to be a handicapped person, meaning someone with a physical or mental impairment that limit one's daily life. This act gave students with disabilities more opportunities in the workplace, in college, and/or in their own community. -
Board of Education of Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley
This court case follows the struggle of a 5 year old deaf girl who did not need an ASL interpreter in kindergarten, but whose parents wanted one in first grade along with her hearing device to improve her education. The court ruled that the public school system is not responsible for helping a student with disabilities reach their full potential, but rather giving them opportunities through a FAPE. This case went on to influence IDEA and later on IDEIA. -
National Center for Learning Disability
The NCLD was originally founded as the Foundation for Children with Learning Disabilities in 1977 by Carrie and Pete Rozelle. In 1989, the name was changed and it was converted into a nonprofit rather than a foundation. They advocate for equal rights and opportunities for individuals with disabilities and empower them to achieve in their emotional, social, and academic environments. -
The Americans with Disabilities Act
This act prohibited any areas of public life from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. These public and private places that are open to the general public include schools, transportation, and workplaces. This act creates equal opportunity for employment for everyone, and this includes people with AIDS. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
IDEIA is an expansion on the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and provides the following guidelines, to name a few: zero reject and confidentiality of records. This means that students cannot be rejected because of a behavior due to their disability, and only individuals working directly with the child have access to their records. The most important among the rest is the provision that the least restrictive environment must be provided, which was carried over from the previous act.
