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Then American School for the Deaf, founded in Hartford, Connecticut, was the first school for disabled children in the western hemisphere. Founder, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, had previously visited l'Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris in France and was inspired to open a similar school in America. Not only was this a school to teach deaf children, but it was a turning point on how Americans viewed people with disabilities. -
After a trip to Paris, Dr. John Dix Fisher recruited Samuel Gridley Howe to run the Perkins Institution for the Blind. When it officially opened in 1832, it had just 6 students. Within the next 6 years, the amount of students increased more than 10 times. One of this school's most renowned graduates was Hellen Keller.
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National Association for Retarded Citizens which came to be known as The Arc, was developed by parents of retarded children. They did not want their children shut away in institutions, as was commonly practiced up until that point. Through the years, The Arc has been responsible for the passage of state and federal laws to better the lives of people with disabilities. Link text -
Although this ruling is best known for giving children regardless of race the opportunity for an education, it also laid the foundation for every child regardless of disabilities to be educated. Many people fought to shut down segregation and for every child to receive an education. Education of people with disabilities was not accomplished right away, but began to evolve and become implemented in the next two decades. -
This act overturned Pennsylvania's law that stated public school services would be denied to children who had not attained the mental age of 5 by the start of first grade. This right-to-education suit secured a quality education for all children. This was the basis for future decrees on behalf of disabled children.
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first disability civil rights law in the United States. It prohibits discrimination against and provides for resources and education for people with disabilities. This law works with different organizations to prevent discrimination and unequal treatment in general education classrooms and continues on into employment. This act helped disabled children to be placed in traditional classes and not be discriminated against. -
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act requires all public schools to provide appropriate education and services for all children with disabilities. This act has been expanded and made stronger over the years and is now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). IDEA states that children with disabilities should always be placed in traditional classrooms whenever possible, this is called their least restrictive environment. -
In 1990, amendments were made to the Handicapped Act. These amendments extended the coverage of this act to children with autism or traumatic brain injury. It also requires that individualized education programs (IEP) be used for each child with parental involvement and procedural safeguards for all involved. The amendments required that evaluations take place of the children and their findings need to be reported.
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In 2004, President Bush signed a major reauthorization of Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). Their mission was to make sure that all children with disabilities have a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) that emphasizes special education and prepares them for further education and independent living. Furthermore, this reauthorization required that mandatory evaluations take place frequently with parental consent.
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