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Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons opens
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Perkins Institution for the Blind opens by Samuel Gridley Howe. Fun Fact- Helen Keller attended for four years.
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Braille code is first published. The system was invented in 1824 by Louise Braille.
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American Printing House for the Blind is established.
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National Deaf Mute College is established. Later renamed Gallaudet University.
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Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon publish their intelligence test, the basis for modern IQ testing.
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Council for Exceptional Children is founded by Elizabeth Farrell and eleven of her students at Columbia University.
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Willowbrook State School opened as a facility for children with intellectual disabilities. After medical scandals and an expose about its horrible conditions, it was closed in 1987.
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U.S. Supreme Court hands down decision in Brown v Board of Education.
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1974 Education or All Handicapped Children Act is enacted
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Americans with Disabilities Act is enacted. EAHCA is amended and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
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NCLBA increases accountability for outcomes for all students and requires that they are taught by highly qualified teachers.
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President Obama signs Rosa's Law, which changes federal language usage from mental retardation to intellectual disability.