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First School for Blind Children
Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles opens in Paris, France, with 120 students. Conditions are bleak, but it is the first public school dedicated to teaching blind children in several subjects, including math, science, writing, and art. -
Creation of American Sign Language
American Sign Language, also known as ASL, was created at the American School for the Deaf, in Hartford, CT, in approximately 1817. Prior to this, there were many regional "dialects" of sign language, depending on the school or place that a hearing impaired person was educated in. Creating a single language with ASL, allowed education to be more standardized at multiple schools, creating new resources for the hearing impaired. -
Braille Created
Louis Braille, himself blinded by a childhood accident, creates an alphabet using six raised dots with the intent that it would help blind people to read and write in an efficient manner. Although praised by many, the system goes largely unused. -
First American Federal-Funded School for the Deaf
The Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind is opened, and (thankfully) later renamed to Gallaudet University, after its founder Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. This school was federally-funded, and provided funds for nearly 2,000 students to receive education from elementary grades through college. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
In response to a case from Louisiana, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation was not in violation of the 14th Amendment, as long as facilities available were "separate but equal". While the case has never been officially overturned, but is considered negated by the later Brown v. Board of Education ruling that desegregates public schools. -
Helen Keller Graduates from University
Helen Keller, having lost her eyesight and hearing at 19 months old to illness, is the first deaf-blind person to graduate with a college degree. She graduated at 24 years of age from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts. -
Buck vs. Bell
This is another Supreme Court decision that affects the rights of disabled persons. It states that it is not unconstitutional for a state to pass a law that would require the sterilization of a person deemed unfit for reproduction, including the intellectually disabled. This case has never been officially overturned. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt Becomes U.S. President
Despite complete paralysis of his legs (from polio), Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected to become the 32nd U.S. President. Roosevelt championed a number of social reforms and public works projects. He is widely regarded to be one of the best presidents the U.S. has had in office. -
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka
This Supreme Court decision desegregated public schools in the United States, overturning a previous decision (Plessy v. Ferguson) that allowed segregation as long as facilities were "separate but equal". This case is most often affiliated with the Civil Rights Movement, but also opened the door for the desegregation of special education students in public schools as well. -
Community Mental Health Act of 1963
This Congressional Act, signed by President John F. Kennedy, was intended to provide funding for mental health research, and community health centers. However, the construction funds were never approved, and many states closed their state-funded facilities to take advantage of federal funds. The outcome was the closure of many mental health institutions, without a replacement for services that people needed. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
A Congressional Act that outlaws discrimination based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin. The Act also prohibits unequal accommodations for voter registration, public access, employment, and education in public schools. The creation of this Act heavily influenced the creation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which would later be passed in 1990. -
Mills v. Board of Education of District of Columbia
A ground-breaking court case in which the District of Columbia court ruled that all students with disabilities have the right to receive a free public education. It further specified that this educational right was not subject to the student's and/or student's family's ability to pay for the education. -
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974
This federal law governs the way that a student's educational information can be accessed. Parents may have access to the records, with that responsibility transferring to the student when they turn 18 years of age. -
Education for All Handicapped Children's Act of 1974
An act of Congress that made a federal mandate requiring all public schools (accepting Federal funds) to provide equal access education and one free meal per day to students with mental and physical handicaps. Schools were also required to evaluate students and create learning plans for them to achieve success in their classes. -
Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District vs. Rowley
In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the school district was not responsible for providing a deaf student with a sign language interpreter, because the student was able to succeed academically without one. The student's success was evidence that she was receiving an adequate and equal education. -
Marlee Matlin Wins Academy Award
American Actress Marlee Matlin becomes the first, and so far only, hearing impaired actress to win an Academy Award. She won this award for her role of Sarah Norman in the film adaptation of Children of a Lesser God. The film depicts the relationship between a teacher and a hearing impaired student over time, and the difference in the worlds they live in. -
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
This Congressional Act prohibits discrimination of disabled persons. Reasonable accommodations for disabled person is required of employers, businesses, churches, and other facilities. This act provides protection for disabled persons, allowing them greater freedom and access in their social, business, and educational lives. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
The original Congressional Act was called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 (IDEA), and this 2004 bill was an update to include the development of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for each student with a disability, as defined by the federal and state requirements for special education. Each student, and their parents, now participated in crafting a plan, unique to that student, that would give them the best chance for success. -
Every Student Succeeds Act
Also known as the ESSA, this law replaced the No Child Left Behind law enacted in 2001. Under the ESSA only 1% of children with disabilities are exempt from standardized testing, which is far less than other laws. The federal definitions of disability are removed, instead being replaced by state definitions, which could be problematic as each state defines a disability in a different manner.
