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In the 1800s, each town had the responsibility to care for those within their community. Many communities had almshouses, county farms or county poorhouses for all who were considered “feeble-minded”. The mindset of the day was to keep them segregated but self-sustaining.
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In 1849 societal changes (increases in manufacturing and changes in laws) substantially increased the number of “feeble-minded” that need to be supported. The county bought the Boyes Poor property in Goffstown and the Hillsborough County Poor House was started.
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compulsory attendance required for school; however, this did not extend to those with disabilities or to African-Americans. Separate but Equal was the norm for education. Students could be expelled from school if it was felt they could not benefit from an education (or couldn’t keep pace with the education), or if they were a distraction to their classmates (which included those with epilepsy or tics).
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The name changed to the Laconia State School in 1924. It is telling that initially the residents of the State School were called “inmates”. As time went by the name changed to “patients”, “clients”, then “residents”. These terms also reveal the evolution of thinking about those with disabilities
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Main Point
The Supreme Court found that African-American children had the right to equal educational opportunities and that segregated schools “have no place in the field of public education.”
Impact to Schools
After the decision in Brown, parents of children with disabilities began to bring lawsuits against their school districts for excluding and segregating children with disabilities. By excluding these children, schools were discriminating against the children because of their disabilities -
Students with physical, emotional or intellectual handicaps have had a right to an education In New Hampshire since the 1960s.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Congress adds Title VI to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 creating a Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (this bureau today is called the Office of Special Education Programs or OSEP). IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Educating students with disabilities is still NOT mandated by federal or state law. However, creation of the Bureau signified that a change was on the horizon -
HISTORICAL EVENT
Two significant supreme court decisions [PARC v. Pennsylvania (1972) and Mills v. D.C. Board of Education (1972)] apply the equal protection argument to students with disabilities. IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The courts take the position that children with disabilities have an equal right to access education as their non-disabled peers. Although there is no existing federal law that mandates this stance, some students begin going to school as a result of these court decisions. -
HISTORICAL EVENT
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is enacted into statute. This national law protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
This national law was enacted with little fanfare. Most educators were not aware that this applied to public schools. -
HISTORICAL EVENT
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is enacted. IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Parents are allowed to have access to all personally identifiable information collected, maintained, or used by a school district regarding their child. -
HISTORICAL EVENT
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) is enacted. This was also known as P.L. 94-142. Today we know this law as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Before 1975, children with disabilities were mostly denied an education solely on the basis of their disabilities. EAHCA, along with some key supreme court cases, mandated all school districts to educate students with disabilities. -
In 1975 a NH law was passed to establish, maintain, implement and coordinate a comprehensive service delivery system for developmentally disabled persons. This included training of staff, for the first time, at Laconia State School.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
The final federal regulations of EAHCA are released IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The final federal regulations are enacted at the start of the 1977-1978 school year and provide a set of rules in which school districts must adhere to when providing an education to students with disabilities -
HISTORICAL EVENT
The EAHCA is amended with the addition of the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act. IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
This amendment makes clear that students and parents have rights under EAHCA (now IDEA) and Section 504. -
HISTORICAL EVENT
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is enacted. IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
ADA adopts the Section 504 regulations as part of the ADA statute. In turn, numerous “504 Plans” for individual students start to become more common place in school districts -
HISTORICAL EVENT
The EAHCA is amended and is now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
This amendment calls for many changes to the old law. One of the biggest was the addition of transition services for students with disabilities. School Districts were now required to look at outcomes and assisting students with disabilities in transitioning from high school to postsecondary life. -
New Hampshire was also the first state to close its State Institution, in 1991. This followed a fifteen-year gradual transition period during which many individuals were placed from the State School into the community. During those fifteen years, it was discovered that these people could flourish in the community if they had the appropriate supports. They did much better than in the institutional environment and it became feasible from an economic point of view (as well as a humane jesture)
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.HISTORICAL EVENT
IDEA reauthorized IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
This amendment calls for students with disabilities to be included in on state and district-wide assessments. Also, Regular Education Teachers are now required to be a member of the IEP team. -
HISTORICAL EVENT
No Child Left Behind is enacted. IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
This law calls for all students, including students with disabilities, to be proficient in math and reading by the year 2014. -
HISTORICAL EVENT
IDEA reauthorized IMPACT ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
There are several changes from the 1997 reauthorization. The biggest changes call for more accountability at the state and local levels, as more data on outcomes is required. Another notable change involves school districts providing adequate instruction and intervention for students to help keep them out of special education.
