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Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris
The first school for the Deaf opened in France, translated to the National Institute for Deaf Children of Paris. Valentin Huay established the Institution for Blind Children, a facility in Paris aimed at making
life more accessible to those who are blind. Huay also discovered that individuals who are blind
could read if texts were printed with raised letters. In 1809 Louis Braille is born. He attended the Paris Blind School, founded by Valentin Huay. -
The American School for the Deaf
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (principal) co-founded along with Laurent Clerc (headteacher) and Mason Cogswell the first school for the Deaf in America. First called the "Connecticut Asylum (at Hartford) for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons when it opened in 1817.
Clerc brought her wonders of skills and knowledge but the most significant was the sign language from France.
Today, the school is still open and is currently offering remote learning or hybrid classes! -
Braille Invented
Louis Braille became blind at the age of three. He had the ability to attend Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles whereas a student invented the raised point alphabet (braille). Valentin Hauy was the first person to emboss paper as a means of reading for the blind. Both put together made Braille as we know it today.
Braille does not make it to the United
States until many years later (1860), or other countries due to sighted people arguing they can't read it. -
Perkins School for the Blind
Thomas Perkins plays an important role in the history of education in America. Perkins' founders were committed to opening the doors to education, literacy, and independence for people who are blind and deafblind. Located in Massachuttes it is the oldest school for the blind in America. In 1837
Laura Bridgman enrolls in the school and becomes the first documented person who is deafblind to be educated. -
Studying Dyslexia
Samuel Orton was an American physician who pioneered the study of learning disabilities. In his studies, he grew an interest to study dyslexia and believed that dyslexia was a neurological as
compared to a visual condition. He also postulated that dyslexia was connected to left-handedness which was false but his work paved the way for others to look for scientific evidence.
After he passed in 1949, his wife and colleague formulated the Orton Society to continue his research and important work. -
March of Dimes
President Franklin D. Roosevelt had polio, which resulted in permanent paralysis from the waist down. He founded the
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes) to combat polio. Over the years the nonprofit organization grew and worked to improve the health of mothers and babies. Their mission was that "(they) believe that every baby deserved the best possible start. Unfortunately, not all babies get one. We are changing that." -
Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC)
Parents of children diagnosed with intellectual disabilities found the Association for Retarded
Citizens (ARC). ARC aimed to educate society at large about individuals with disabilities, and
ensure access to services and supports needed for individuals with intellectual disabilities. It became the world's largest community-based organization. It provides many services and support for families and individuals for over 140,000 members. -
(PARC) V. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
This was the first right to education suit in the country. It challenged the constitutionality of excluding individuals with mental retardation from public education and training. The case was quickly settled resulting in a consent decree that the state was not allowed to “deny to any mentally retarded child access to a free public program of education and training.” This became the basis for the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. -
Mills V. Board of Education of the DOC
This case like PARC v Commonwealth restricted handicapped children and excluded them from public schools. A lawsuit was filed against DOC. It ruled that “adequate alternative education services”, "periodic review of the child’s status progress, and any educational alternative” and schools must describe the curricula, objectives, teacher qualifications, and supplemental services were required. They established that "all children are entitled to free public education" -
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
This act prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by federal agencies, in programs receiving federal assistance, in federal employment, and in the employment practices of federal contractors. This act guaranteed civil rights to all disabled people and required accommodations for disabled students in schools. This includes Section 501 which prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities. -
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
This federal law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in federally funded
public spaces and programs. Resistance to Section 504 from president Carter’s administration prompted
hundreds of disability rights sit-ins and protests. In addition, civil rights activists, such as the Black
Panther party demonstrated solidarity with the disability community by supporting Section 504
and anti-discrimination efforts. Section 504 was later signed into federal law. -
Educational Amendments Act
This act, signed by President Gerald Ford, increased federal funds to states for programming for exceptional learners. Federal spending now included a much larger cut for handicapped children and a revised formula for distributing Title 1 assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It also provides the first federal funding state programs for students who are gifted and talented and their families. -
FERPA
The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) sometimes referred to as the “Buckley
Amendment” was signed into federal legislation. FERPA protects the privacy of student educational
records. All universities receiving federal funding must comply with FERPA. Under FERPA, students and parents have the right to inspect their educational records, control disclosure of information, request amendments of inaccurate or misleading content. -
EAHCA
This act required all public schools accepting federal funds to provide equal access to education for children with physical and mental disabilities. Public schools were required to evaluate children with disabilities and create an educational plan with parent input that would emulate as closely as possible the educational experience of non-disabled students (LRE). This requires IEP's for students. -
Board of ED of Hendrick Husdon V. Rowley
Clarified the definition of free and appropriate public education (FAPE). Amy Rowley was a deaf 5th grader who used a hearing aid that amplified words spoken by her teacher. The court ruled state governments were required to provide disabled students with a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE) in the LRE clearly defined in their IEP. The court’s decision in Rowley thus defined the term free appropriate public education. -
Honig V. Doe
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a California school board had violated EAHCA when it indefinitely suspended a student for violent and disruptive behavior that was related to his disability. The court affirmed that the state must provide services directly to students with disabilities when local school boards fail to do so and ruled that schools could not expel children for behaviors related to their disability. -
ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and guarantees equal opportunity to employment and public services, accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. They define an individual with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities or person who has a history or record of such an impairment.
https://acl.gov/ada/origins-of-the-ada -
Cedar Rapids V. Garret F.
Garret was paralyzed from the neck down in an accident when he was age 4, but his mental capacities were unaffected. He required nursing services to attend his regular classes but the school district declined to accept financial responsibility for Garret's services in order for him to be able to attend school. However, the court ruled that under IDEA students must be provided with the supplemental services they need to attend school at no extra cost to the parents. -
IDEA to IDEIA
Became amended in 2004 to IDEIA or Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act to ensure that all children with disabilities receive an appropriate education through Special Education and related services and to ensure that all children with disabilities get the “special education and related services” that they need to receive a free and appropriate public education that helps to prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. -
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Signed by President Obama in December 2015 as a commitment to equal opportunity for all students. ESSA replaces the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that was enacted in 2002 but provides additional opportunities for schools when students are not making adequate progress. ESSA shifts students' accountability from the federal government to state and local control where progress is monitored and sanctions determined.
