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American School for the Deaf Opens
The American School for the Deaf is the oldest school for the deaf in the US, located in Hartford, CT. It was the first school of elementary and secondary education to be federally funded and was granted $300,000 by the government. ASD keeps a small enrollment, 200 students, and has graduated 6,000 students. -
Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind
The U.S. Congress authorized Columbia Insititution for the Deaf and Dumb and Bline to grant college degrees. President Lincoln signed it the bill into law. Now known as Gallaudet University, it was the first school for in the world for advanced education specifically for students wtih disabilities and continues to be the only university where all services and programs and designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. -
National Association of the Deaf
It was founded in 1880 in Cincinnati, OH as a non-profit organization advocating for deaf rights. The National Association of the Deaf is the United States member of the World Federation of the Deaf. NAD advocates for deaf rights in all aspects of life, from transportation to education. Its purpose is to protect all civil, human and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. www.nad.org -
Brown v. Board of Education
Due to the outcome of this U.S. Supreme Court case, segregation based on race is a violation of the U.S. department of education. This case led to the understanding that all children, regardless of race, gender, or disability had the right to be educated in the public school system. After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of desegregation, families of children with disabilities began to file lawsuits against school districts that had discriminated against disabled children. -
Opportunity Center Opens- Whitley County, Indiana
The Opportunity Center opened as the first school for children with disabilities located in Whitley County, IN. It was founded by the families of the 12 children served. This became Passages, Inc., the company I work for today, an agency providing residential, day programing, community/employment opportunities for adults with disabilities. http://passagesinc.org/ http://passagesinc.org/wp-content/uploads/60th-Anniversary-publication.pdf -
Special Olympics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EKYG-zMDl0 The Special Olympics started at Eunice Kennedy Shriver's home for children with intellectual disabilities. Now, it's the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics provides year-round training to over 4.4 million athletes in 170 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held daily at local, national, and regional levels- adding to more than 70,000 events per year. -
Elementary and Secondary Education Act
This landmark legislation enacted by Congress provided resources to help ensure that disadvantaged students had access to quality education. President Lydon B. Johnson signed the law with his elementary teacher next to him. This legislation emphasized equal access to education and promoted high standards and accountability to schools. This legislation will later become the No Child Let Behind Act. -
PARC v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children, PARC, fought for the rights of children with mental disabilities to attend public schools. Before the lawsuit, children were denied access to a public school education if they did not have a mental age of five years by the time they went to first grade. This case was a significant challenge to laws excluding students with mental disabilities from attending school alongside other children or even in special programs tailored to their needs. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
A civil rights law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities, public and private, that receive federal financial assistance. Section 504 falls under IDEA as providing an "appropriate" education to students who may not require special education, but would benefit from accommodations. Any person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, or is regarded as having the impairment is protected by 504. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142)
President Ford signed the Act to ensure a "free and appropriate public education" for all handicapped students. This act provided federal funding to states and local agencies in order to meet the individual needs of children with disabilities and their families. Publics schools were to provide equal access to education for physically and mentally handicapped students. It was a requirement to be evaluated and an individualized educational program (IEP) was created for that child. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
https://danecountyhumanservices.org/ccs/prov/ada_cvl_rghts.aspx A civil rights law to prohibit discrimination solely on the basis of disability in employment, public services, and accommodations. Any individual with a disability who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities, or has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having the an impairment is protected by ADA. The person must be qualified for the program, service, or job. -
IDEA
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was ammended and renamed into Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The act guarantees federal funding, evaluation, and educational plan for all students with disabilities ages birth-21. IDEA guarantees FAPE, a free and appropriate public education for all students wtih disabiltiies in the least restricted environment. Students with disabilties learn alongside students of typical abilities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMndYNEGFA -
No Child Left Behind
This is the reaurthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It includes Title 1, which is a government aid program for disadvantaged students. NCLB supports the educational reform of setting higher standards and establishing measurable goals will improve individual outcomes in education. The state receives federal funding by assessing select grade levels through standardized testing. NCLB leaves it to states to set up their own achievement standards. -
Autism Speaks
Autism Speaks is an autism advocacy organization that supports autism research and conducts autism awareness activities throughout the United States. Since its opening, Autism Speaks has merged with three other autism organizations and raised millions of dollars in support of autism research. Autism Speaks has received criticism because it sees autism as a disease rather than a disorder and is funding biomedical research for a cure.
