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Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb
First permanent school for the deaf and dumb was in Hartford, Connecticut. The term "dumb" at that time only meant "unable to speak". Reverend Thomas Gallaudet, first superintendent of the school, and Laurent Clerc was the first sign language teacher. The school is now called Gallaudet University. -
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History of Special Education
This is a timeline of the major events and laws surrounding Special Education in the United States. -
New England Asylum for the Blind
The school is now known as Perkins School For The Blind. Samuel Gridley Howe was a physician and became the first director of this school. Laura Bridgman was his first student, she was both blind and deaf. In her adult life Bridgman came back to the school and taught needlework and sewing. -
Louis Braille
Founder of the braille language system. Braille himself was blinded from an eye infection resulting after an accident in which a tool slipped and struck him in the eye. Braille was completely blind by the time he was 5 years old. Captain Charles Barbie of France had invented the first braille system but it was very complicated. Braille modified and created his own system which was used by 1854 in the Royal Institute. -
Massachusetts School for the Feeble-Minded
This institution was the first of its kind and is also the oldest school of its kind. Later the school was named after its third superintendent, Walter E. Fernald, Fernald State School, of which it is known still today in 2018. Over 2,500 people were confined there during a period in history when little was known of how to actually help these individuals. -
Eugenics Movement
A movement known as the Eugenics Movement, originating in Nazi Germany, believed that people seeming to be genetically inferior should be separated from the rest of society. This movement in the United States was perpetuated by Charles Davenport from 1866-1944. -
Elizabeth Farrel
First person to ever teach a class of special education students in the United States. She was also the first president of the Council for Exceptional Children. -
Vinland Training School
Known to be the 3rd facility in the United States of its kind to train teachers to teach students, known at that time as "feeble-minded." -
Compulsory Education - 1852 to 1917 - Massachusetts (First) to Mississippi (Last)
Growing concern throughout these years of Child Labor. Child Labor Law passed in 1918 and 1922, although Supreme Court Found them both unconstitutional. In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act. (Note: Amish children after grade 8 are exempt from Compulsory Education, Supreme Court ruled Wisconsin vs. Yoder, 1972.) -
Seeing Eye Dogs
First seeing eye dogs are introduced to the United States. Morris Frank and Dorothy Harrison Eustis partner to cofound The Seeing Eye. First seeing eye dog named "Buddy." -
Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation Established
This foundation was established in honor of the Kennedy family's sister Rosemary, the oldest child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Rosemary was found to have mental disabilities. The organization was established to provide resource in the care of persons with disabilities. Today the foundations spends millions of dollars focusing on research into mental retardation. -
Association For Retarded Children (ARC) Founded
This organization promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. -
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Civil Rights Movement
This era helped in paving the way for many disabilities acts to be established. -
Brown v Board of Education
A major decision by the Supreme Court that would help aid congress passing laws in the area of discrimination against those with disabilities. -
National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Established
At the urging of his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, President John F. Kennedy recommends the creation of this department of the government. Now called Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. -
First Shriver Camp
Children from ages 6 to 16 attend a backyard game at Eunice Kennedy Shrivers home in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. The camp is for children with intellectual disabilities. This was the forerunner to the Special Olympics. Shriver hosted these events in her backyard for 5 years until the International Special Olympics is finally held in Chicago. -
Association For Children With Learning Disabilities
Professionals in the field and parents of children with disabilities came together at a conference in Chicago with a goal to provide an organization that could better advocate and provide resources for children and families with disabilities. Now the organization is known as the Learning Disabilities Association of America (LDA). -
Title Vi
Congress adds Title Vi to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965) creating a Bureau of Education for the Handicapped. Today it is called the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). -
First International Special Olympics
Joint venture between the Kennedy Foundation and the Chicago Park District. Inspired by Eunice Kennedy Shriver. -
Two Major Supreme Court Cases
Two major supreme court cases were: PARC v. Pennsylvania and Mills v. D.C. Board of Education. The court decides that children with disabilities have the right to access education just like their non-disabled peers. The court rules in favor of the children even though their is no law that mandates this. Some children with disabilities begin going to school because of these two court decisions. -
Section 504 of Public Law 93-112
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination of individuals with disabilities of any program receiving federal funding. -
Family Education Rights Privacy Act (FERPA)
This is an act that protects the privacy of student education records. Parents and students at the age of 18 have the right to view their educational records. Parents also have the right to request that the school corrects the records if they find the records to be inaccurate. -
PL 94-142 - Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)
Compulsory education laws had been in place since 1918 nationwide, however children with disabilities were still be excluded from public schools. This law established "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) requiring that all public schools must provide all children an education in the "least restrictive environment" (LRE) regardless of their physical or mental handicaps, emotional or behavioral problems, or any other learning disability. -
PL 99-457 Education of the Handicapped Act Amendment
This bill was signed by Ronald Reagan and was to allow for handicapped infants and preschool children the same rights, services, and protections as school age children. -
PL 94-142 Renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
This act wasn't just renamed, it was to encompass even more services to the families of children with disabilities. These services were to expand to: interpreters for the deaf or computer assisted technology for the physically impaired; basically services that children need in order to reach their full potential. Special education students were no longer kept isolated from their peers and were allowed to be a part of the regular education classroom. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
In order to take the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 one step further, George Bush signed this Act in order provide those with disabilities beyond the classroom protection also in the workplace, buildings, and with transportation. -
IDEA Reauthorized
The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1997 requires all states to have "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) for all students with disabilities, including public and private schools. -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Signed into law by George W. Bush, which provides money for extra educational assistance for poor children in return for improvements in their academic progress. Update to the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). -
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Signed by President Barack Obama, providing more funding for quality and highly skilled teachers and administrators in the area of PreK-12 education. -
IDEA Part C
Infants and toddlers, birth to age 2, with disabilities and their families are to receive early intervention services. These services should include: screenings, evaluations, assessments, and intervention services.
