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The first School for the Deaf in the United States
The first School for the Deaf in the United States was opened in Connecticut. Founded by Thomas Hopkins, Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc. It was called "The Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Person". Now is known as "American School for the Deaf”. It is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States. General Assembly awarded its first annual grant to the school in 1819.
https://www.asd-1817.org/about/asd-history -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
The case went before the U.S. District Court in Kansas, which agreed that public school segregation had a “detrimental effect upon the colored children” and contributed to “a sense of inferiority,” but upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine. When Brown’s case and four other cases related to school segregation first came before the Supreme Court in 1952, the Court combined them into a single case under the name Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siiQelPHbQ] -
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed in 1965. It's the nations national law on education. It provided federal funds to help low-income students, which resulted in the initiation of educational programs such as Title I and bilingual education. Part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty”. the act has been the most far-reaching federal legislation affecting education ever passed by the United States Congress. It was amended in 1966 to include children with disabilities. -
Education of the Handicapped Act of 1970
In 1970, Congress enacted the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 91-230) in an effort to encourage states to develop educational programs for individuals with disabilities. The act provided state grants to help expand education programs for students with disabilities. Federal government money was given to schools to help better train special education teachers. The grants were not mandated for use.
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/leg/idea/history.html -
Diana v. State Board of Education (1970)
Helped fix misclassification of students in special education. This case challenged the use of English-only IQ tests to determine the placement of students in special education. The court ultimately ruled in favor of Diana. All future students being assessed for special education needed to be tested in their primary language or use a nonverbal assessment. Test were in English prior.
https://www.slideshare.net/casandoval1/diana-v-state-board-of-education-1970 -
PARC v. Commonwealth of PA (1972)
PARC v. Commonwealth of PA (1972) required schools to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania sided in favor of students with intellectual and learning disabilities in state-run institutions. PARC v. Penn called for students with disabilities to be placed in publicly funded school settings that met their individual educational needs, based on a proper and thorough evaluation. -
Mills v. Board of Education (1972)
Mills v. Board of Education (1972) since segregation was deemed unconstitutional, it also is unconstitutional to deny students with disabilities an education. This ruling made it unlawful for the D.C. Board of Education to deny these individuals access to publicly funded educational opportunities. This case found the District of Columbia failed to provide publicly supported education and training to plaintiffs and other “‘exceptional” children, in their class. Education is a right for all. -
Congressional Investigation of 1972
In the wave of the PARC and Mills ruling, Congress set out to uncover how many children with special education needs were being under-served. The Bureau of Education for the Handicapped found that there were 8 million children requiring special education services. Of that total, 3.9 million students adequately had their educational needs met, 2.5 million were receiving a substandard education and 1.75 million weren’t in school. The children were called "invisible children". -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973)
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was the first disability civil rights law to be enacted in the United States. It prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in programs that receive federal financial assistance, and set the stage for enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. No person with a disability can be excluded or denied benefit from any program, either public or private.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxx6rQqIjpY -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act 1975
President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, otherwise known as Public Law 94-142. Required all states that accepted money from the federal government to provide equal access to education for children with disabilities and provide them with one free meal per day. States had the responsibility to ensure compliance under the law within all of their public school systems. The act is an amendment to Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act enacted in 1966. -
Public Law 99-457
Public Law 99-457 was an amendment to the All Handicapped Children Act, which mandated that individual states provide services to families of children born with disabilities. Previously, these services were not available until a child reached the age of three. The law makes it a requirement for states to offer interdisciplinary educational services to disabled toddlers, infants, and their families to receive financial grants. The grants allow states to provide services to children from birth. -
Armstrong v. Kline (1979)
Parents of student noticed their children in special education began to regress during summer break. 1977, a hearing was held over the issue of needing continued education in addition to the 180 days of school throughout the year. 1979, the Court found that the 180 day rule violated the plaintiffs right to “free and appropriate education” under the Education for all Handicapped Children Act. The courts ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and created the extended school year. -
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act 1986
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was later amended in 1986. It required Individuals Family Service Plans for children and families. It Lowered the age of eligibility for special education services to age 3. It also created financial incentives for educating children birth-2 using early intervention methods and parents were able to recover attorney fees if they won in a court case or hearing. The supreme court asserted the right for children with disabilities to a FAPE. -
Assistive Technology Act 1988
The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act (P.L. 100-407) was first passed in 1988. The Assistive Tech Act is intended to promote people’s awareness of, and access to, assistive technology (AT) devices and services. The Act seeks to provide AT to persons with disabilities, so they can more fully participate in education, employment, and daily activities on a level playing field with other members of their communities. It covers people of all ages and disabilities. -
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 1990
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law in 1990. It is a law that prohibits discrimination towards a person with a disability. This includes jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life. -
Assistive Technology Act 1994
Reauthorized in 1994 (P.L. 103-218).Congress passed this legislation to increase access to, availability of, and funding for assistive technology through state efforts and national initiatives. -
The Education for all Handicapped Children’s Act
The Education for all Handicapped Children’s Act became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). DEA was reauthorized with amendments that emphasized providing all students with access to the same curriculum. States were given the authority to expand the “developmental delay” definition from birth through five years old and to also include students between the ages of six and nine. It emphasized the use of individual education plans (IEP) for all special education students. -
Assistive Technology Act 1998
Directs the Secretary of Education to provide continuity grants, for assistive technology (AT) for individuals with disabilities, to States that have received less than ten years of funding under the ATA 1988. Technology is one of the primary engines for economic activity, education, and innovation in the Nation, and throughout the world. (P.L. 105-394) The 1998 law reaffirmed that technology is a valuable tool that can be used to improve the lives of Americans with disabilities. -
No Child Left Behind Act 2001
No Child Left behind reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Under this law, states were made required to test students in both reading and math from grades 3-8 and will continue through other testing in high school. This act included four pillars: accountability, flexibility, research-based education, and parent options. It required that there be state academic standards as well as standardized testing that met federal standards. It provided funds to low income students. -
IDEA Improvement Act of 2004
The major purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act is to ensure that all children with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. It provided students and their parents the right to; FAPE, appropriate evaluation, IEP, LRE, participation and procedural safeguards. -
Every Student Succeeds Act 2015
This act was passed in order to govern the United States education policy. This law replaced the previous law "No Child Left Behind" and modified some of the elements regarding standardized tests. ESSA leaves significantly more control to the states and districts in determining the standards students are held to. States are required to submit their goals and standards and how they plan to achieve them to the US Department of Education. This act was signed by Obama in 2015. -
Endrew F v. Douglas County School District (2017)
Parents sued school for tuition to a private school because the school was unable to provide a "meaningful education".
Confusion with terminology in courts led to a debate of what schools are required to provide. The court ruled in favor a higher standard of education for students with disabilities. This case decided what districts can do under IDEA.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6037825813385891567&q=Endrew+F+v.+Douglas+County+School+District+(2017)&hl=en&as_sdt=806&as_vis=1
