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Circa 1800 - Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard Breaks the Mold
Itard begins the quest to provide equitable and competent treatment for the exceptional. Per Link text "He was the first physician to declare that an enriched environment could compensate for developmental delays caused by heredity or previous deprivation . . . Up to this time, it had been assumed that mentally retarded people were uneducable." -
1817 - First American residential school for students who were deaf
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1829- First residential school for students who were blind
Opened by Samuel Gridley Howe -
1839 - World's First School for Intellectually Disabled
Opened by Edouard Seguin. Per Link text -
1922 - Council for Exceptional Children founded
Founded by Elizabeth E. Farrell -
1925 - Samuel Orton begins to study dyslexia
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1949 - International Dyslexia Association Founded
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1954 - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Provides Watershed Moment
Link text Ruled that separate classes were not equal, paving the way for exceptional learners and students of all demographics (race, religion, disability, etc.) to be provided for in diverse, general education classrooms. -
Circa 1960 - Mainstreaming shows slow progress
Students with disabilities began to become gradually more integrated into the general education classroom settings, but they were still viewed as outsiders and serious roadblocks still remained for those with more serious disabilities. -
1968 - Special Olympics founded
Eunice Kennedy Shriver helped lay the foundation for empathy and inclusion for those with disabilities by instituting the Special Olympics. An important first step in ensuring that those with disabilities are not "othered," but given equal opportunities to succeed like those without disabilities. -
1973 - Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
Civil rights law which provides for students with disabilities receiving accommodations in general education classrooms which do not require more extensive services. Distinct from IEPs. -
1975 - Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Forerunner to 1990's IDEA, this was one of the first steps in providing a mandatory blueprint for schools' fair and equitable treatment of exceptional learners. Will eventually be amended multiple times before culminating into 2004's Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. -
Circa 1980 - Regular Education Initiative (REI)
Attempted to better integrate exceptional learners into general education classes -
Circa 1985 - Inclusion Movement takes off
Greater pushes for more equitable inclusion in all facets of education and life were being made by individuals dissatisfied with limitations of the disability legislation of the time. -
1986 - IDEA Services extended to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers aged 3
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1990 - Americans with Disabilities Act
Law which prohibits discrimination on the sole basis of an individual's disability -
1990 - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Original IDEA law instituted to provide all students with Free, Appropriate, Public education. Will be amended multiple times. -
2001 - No Child Left Behind Act
Created a benchmark for all students, regardless of disability/ability. Students are now all expected to pass state assessments, requiring research-based, equitable teaching. -
2004 - Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
Created to provide the most help to exceptional learners.
1. Due process for assessment, identification, and placement
2. Zero rejection from schools on basis of disability
3. Free and appropriate public education
4. Equal protection under the law
5. Nondiscriminatory assessment
6. Least restrictive environment for learning -
2015 - Every Student Succeeds Act
Link text Follows NCLB. "At a Glance
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the nation’s main education law for all public schools. . . The law holds schools accountable for how students learn and achieve. . . .ESSA aims to provide an equal opportunity for students who get special education services."
