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The First Special Education School
In 1760, the first public school for the deaf and blind was opened in France by Charles Michel L’Epeè. He focused on using a different way of teaching language and phonetics for these deaf and blind students. Others then began to follow in the path of Charles and started forming other special education schools, such as Valentin Haüy who founded the first school in the world for blind people in 1784. -
First Special Education School in the USA
Initially named the American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, but now known as the American School for the Deaf, this was the first special education school in the United States. It was created in 1817 and is located in Hartford, Connecticut. This school was founded by Thomas Gallaudet. -
Council for Exceptional Children Formed
The Council for Exceptional Children was founded by Elizabeth Farrell. It was formed at Columbia University on August 10, 1922. It’s purpose was to advocate for special education and they have had an important impact on laws regarding the disabled over the years. -
NARC Formed
The National Association for Retarded Children (NARC) was created by parents of mentally disabled children in 1950. They worked toward advocating and making a difference in the world for disabled people. They helped to initiate the 94-142 law. -
Training for Professional Personnel Act of 1959
The purpose of this act was to fund and provide proper training for educators to work with disabled students. This act is also known as Public Act 86-158. This was a big milestone at the time and was able to increase the amount of educators in schools that were capable of working with these kind of studenfs. -
Mills vs. Board of Education
Mills vs. Board of Education of the District of Columbia established that disabled students have the right to free public education. This case was initiated when 7 black disabled children were denied public education. The court ruled in favor of the students.
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/JfGmK1R0jR0?si=cEM7uD5jIoRdEYUw -
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a law that protects the rights of those with disabilities. Section 504 stated that school districts are required to provide free public education to disabled people. It also required that schools and other public places are to have a wheelchair ramp. -
IDEA
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the nation’s law regarding special education. It was created to ensure that disabled students receive a proper free public education.
WEBSITE: https://www.understood.org/en/articles/individuals-with-disabilities-education-act-idea-what-you-need-to-know -
No Child Left Behind Act
This act occurred in 2001 under the presidency of George W. Bush. This federal law was created to hold schools accountable for the academic progression of students, which was measured via standardized testing specifically in reading and math. This law was an important push towards making sure that students of all backgrounds were advancing in their education. -
Rosa’s Law
Rosa’s Law, named after Rosa Marcellino, was established under the presidency of Barack Obama in 2010. The purpose of this law was to replace the term “mental retardation” or any variation of this in existing federal laws to “intellectual disability”. It also pushed for these terms to no longer be used in many other spaces, making for a more positive and safe environment for disabled students in school and other public settings.