History of Special Education in the US

  • American School of the Deaf

    The American school of the deaf was first found in Connecticut and it was the first school for disabled children. This was an inspiration for what we today know as the American Sign Language. https://www.asd-1817.org/about/history--cogswell-heritage-house
  • Law Mandating Compulsory Education

    The compulsory Law of education requires both public and private schools to let children attend for a certain period of time. Typically, children must start school by the age of six and remain enrolled until they are at least 16. These laws were put in place not only to improve literacy rates but also to discourage the widespread child labor practices of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
  • Beattie vs. Board of Education

    Special needs students were spelled from schools due to their facial appearance. These students' mental capacities were fine bur physically they did not look like the other kids, teachers, and fellow students were nauseated by those conditions.
    https://casetext.com/case/state-ex-rel-beattie-v-board-of-edn-city-of-antigo
  • Classification of Autism

    In 1943, Leo Kanner published the first systematic description of early infantile autism. He concluded that this was a neurodevelopmental disorder and that 'these children have come into the world with an innate inability to form the usual, biologically provided contact with people. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540261.2018.1455646?journalCode=iirp20
  • Section 504

    Section 504 Act of 1973, as amended, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. Requiring that school districts provide a free appropriate public education to qualified students in their jurisdictions who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxx6rQqIjpY
  • Education for All Handicapped Children

    is a federal law. It is also known as Public Law 94–142. It requires public schools to provide appropriate educational services for all children with disabilities between ages 3 and 21. EAHCA has been strengthened and expanded over the years. It is now called the Individual with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. https://www.mottchildren.org/health-library/ue4929
  • No Child Left Behind Act

    Under the 2002 law, states are required to test students in reading and math in grades 3–8 and once in high school. All students are expected to meet or exceed state standards in reading and math by 2014. The major focus of No Child Left Behind is to close student achievement gaps by providing all children with a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education. https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx6n_qlEYQs
  • IDEA Reauthorized

    s the primary federal program that authorizes state and local aid for special education and related services for children with disabilities. The new law preserves the basic structure and civil rights guarantees of IDEA but also makes significant changes in the law. https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/lr/ideareathztn.asp

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