Special Education and Inclusive Education History

By luby
  • American School for the Deaf

    American School for the Deaf

    This was originally known as The American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and dumb, and was the first special education institution in the United States and marked the beginning of widespread attempts to instruct students with disabilities. Most educational instruction for this group of students took place at asylums during this period as education was believed to be connected to moral therapy.
  • Perkins School for the Blind

    Perkins School for the Blind

    This was the first school of its kind to meet the needs of the blind community at the time by providing education and literacy. The school’s first director pioneered the Howe Press which perfected the braille typewriter and the school was home to the famous Hellen Keller who is renowned for her role in the promotion of equal rights and benefits for disabled students.
  • The White House Conference on Children

    The White House Conference on Children

    This conference led to the creation of segregated classrooms within existing educational institutions, which was a departure from the previous practice of institutionalization of children with disabilities. The standard at the time was to isolate and institutionalize these individuals and limit their interaction with the general school age public. https://www.encyclopedia.com/children/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/white-house-conferences-children
  • Compulsory Education Laws

    Compulsory Education Laws

    Even though all states by 1918 required that all students receive a public education, students with disabilities were still discriminated against and excluded from the right to educational access.
  • The Council for Exceptional Children

    The Council for Exceptional Children

    The CEC is an advocate for individuals with disabilities who have been disenfranchised from their rights to an education and was born out of the climate of advocacy that blossomed in the early 1900’s.
  • The Bradley Home

    The Bradley Home

    This was the nation’s first neuropsychiatric hospital for children that was dedicated to the memory of Emma Bradley who suffered from a host of disabilities due to encephalitis as a child. Her wealthy parents recognized the need for this type of care and research specifically aimed at children and devoted their resources to providing it.
  • Brown vs Board of Education

    Brown vs Board of Education

    This landmark ruling by the Supreme Court during the civil rights movement declared that minority students were denied their educational rights due to school segregation. As a result, special education advocates argued that segregation based on a student’s disability was also an infringement on their educational and by extension, civil rights.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGHLdr-iak
  • Department of Public Welfare vs Haas

    Department of Public Welfare vs Haas

    The Department of Public Welfare case ruled that the State of Illinois was not mandated to extend the right of free public education to disabled students because they were thought to be “feeble minded”. Even though students with disabilities had advocates fighting for their civil rights, these rights were not yet recognized and guaranteed under Brown vs Board of Education.
  • Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    Elementary and Secondary Education Act

    It emphasized equal access to education and established high academic standards and accountability. Funds are authorized in the law for developing standards, assessments, professional development, curriculum, and educational programming.
  • PARC

    PARC

    Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC) vs Board of Education. This ruling mandated the establishment of parity between the existing general education programs and special education programs in addition to providing free public education to students with disabilities between the ages of 6 and 21.
  • Mills vs Board of Education

    Mills vs Board of Education

    This case further supported the PARC ruling by guaranteeing the right to due process, a hearing and appeal for students with disabilities who were wrongly denied their right to a free public education.
  • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

    Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

    This mandated that agencies receiving federal funds must provide the same service to all citizens regardless of them having a disability. It prevents the discrimination of these individuals or denial of service dues to their disability.
  • EAHCA

    EAHCA

    This Act was responsible for affording disabled students rights such as free and appropriate education as defined by their IEP, procedural due process, education in the least restrictive environment, nondiscriminatory testing, evaluation, and placement procedures.
  • Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments

    Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments

    These amendments included the implementation of a rigorous national agenda to increase and improve services to children with special needs and their families. It expanded the Act to include handicapped infants and preschool children and special attention to the deaf community and their corresponding supporting systems.
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

    The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

    This Act requires public places to provide the same opportunities and access to all citizens, regardless of their disability. It covers public schools including transportation and supports students post-graduation with employment coverage.
    https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm
  • The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

    IDEA clarified the types of services that needed to be provided to children with disabilities and included transition planning for those in special education programs in preparation for adulthood. It complimented the initiatives outlined in the ADA and provided structure and purpose to the Acts.
  • Amendments to IDEA

    Amendments to IDEA

    Greater focus was placed on quality of care and its application in order to provide measurable impacts and improvements in the educational outcomes of disabled students and those with special needs.
  • No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA)

    No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA)

    This Act prohibits individuals from holding students to different standards or setting separate goals for success between differently abled students, they are encouraged to achieve the same success markers.

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