History of Special Education

The Philosophy of Special Education

The general philosophy of special education is that “all people have the ability to learn, regardless of
their particular disabilities.”

American School for the Deaf

April 15, 1817

The American School for the Deaf id founded in Hartford, Connecticut. This was the first school for
disabled children anywhere in the Western Hemisphere

Perkins Institution for the Blind opens.

1832

The Perkin Institution was founded in Boston, Massachusetts. This institution the first of its kind for
people with mental disabilities. Participants were required to live and learn there, just like a boarding
school.

Law Mandating Compulsory Education

1840

Rhode Island passed a law mandating compulsory education for all children. Compulsory education is
education in which children are required by law to receive and for governments to provide.

Columbia Institution

1864

Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind was allowed to grant college degrees by the U.S.
Congress. It was the first college in the world established for people with disabilities.

Association of Instructors of the Blind

1870

The school for the Deaf and the School for the Blind offer comprehensive educational programs for
hearing impaired and visually impaired students.

Plessy vs. Ferguson

1896

The Supreme Court upheld the Louisan separate car act. Though this is not directly related to education,
this did set the precedence of separate but equal.

Beattie v. Board of Education

Special needs students were expelled from school due to facial abnormalities and drooling. The students
mental capacities were fine, but teachers and fellow students were nauseated by this student physical
conditions.

Council for Exceptional Children

February 24, 1922

The Council for Exceptional Children is the first advocacy group for children with disabilities. The CEC is
one of the largest special education advocacy groups. The main objective of this group is to ensure that
children with special needs receive FAPE.

The Bradly Home

1931

The Bradly Home, the first psychiatric hospital for children in the United States. It was

Established in East Providence, Rhode Island

Cuyahoga Council for Retarted Citizens

1933

A Parental Advocacy Group composed of five mothers of children with mental retardation who came to
Cuyahoga, Ohio to protest their children’s exclusion from public schools. This lead to the establishment
of a special class for the children, even though the parents sponsored it.

Classification of Autism

1943

The classification of Autism was introduced by Dr. Leo Lanner of John Hopkins University.

National Association for Retarded Citizens

October 20, 1950

The National Association for Retarded Citizens came about. NARC was formed by 23 individual advocacy
groups that had the same belief so they came together as one. During the passing of IDEA, the NARC
consisted of over 200,000 members. NARC helped with litigation and making sure that all parts of the
judicial process were met.

Brown v. Board of Education

May 17, 1954

A landmark court case that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson case saying that “Separate is not equal”. This
court case brought attention to black v. white’s in school and special need students v. general education
students. This case encouraged the formation of many advocacy groups to inform the public of need of
special education programs.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act

January 1, 1965

The ESEA did not make it law to educate students with disabilities but it did give grants to state school
sand institutions that put into place programs to educate students with disabilities.

Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

October 8, 1971

Sided in favor of students with intellectual and learning disabilities in state-run institutions. PARC v.
Penn called for students with disabilities to be places in publicly funded school settings that met their
individual educational needs, based on a proper and through evaluation.

In the Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Colombia

December 17, 1971

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia students classified as “Exceptional”. This includes
those with mental and learning disabilities and behavioral issues. This ruling made it unlawful for the
D.C. Board of Education to deny these individuals access to publicly funded educational opportunity.

First Center for Independent Living Opens

January 1, 1972

This center was made at UC Berkley by Ed Roberts to support the needs of individuals with disabilities so
they can live independently and away from nursing homes and other institutions.

Section 504

September 26, 1973

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act allows protection from discrimination of special needs and
disabilities. Tis law is considered the first law giving protection to students with special needs. This law
includes FAPE and LRE. Students are eligible when they have either a physical or mental disability that
inhibits their learning experience.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act

1975

This act made sure that all students with disabilities are educated in public schools. EAHCA included
providing free educations, special education for children 3-21, supplemental services, due process, zero
reject, and least restrictive environment.

Least Restrictive Environment

1975
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) means that with a student’s IEP , they must also be in as many
regular education classes as possible. This ensures that the student has social experiences. In LRE
classrooms paras and aids are usually required.

Board of Ed. Of HHCD V. Rowley

June 28, 1982

A landmark case that designed the Rowley Two-Part test in determining whether FAPE is being met
according to a student IEP. The two part test consists of questions asking if the school fulfilled the
procedures of IDEA and “is the IEP developed through the procedures of the act”. If these two questions
are answered correctly, then FAPE and IDEA have been met.

Handicapped Children’s Protection Act

August 6, 1986

Signed by Ronald Regan the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act was a law that gave parents of
children with disabilities more say in the development of their child’s Individual Education Plan (IEP)

Americans with Disabilities Act

July 26, 1990

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The act promises
people with special needs will have the same rights as everybody else. This includes both school and
work. This act also stated that people with special needs cannot be discriminated against in schools, the
workplace, and everyday society such as public transportation.

IDEA

October 30, 1990

The individuals with disabilities Education Act was also signed into law by George W. Bush. This law
includes 6 pillars: FAPE, LRE, IEP, evaluation, parent/student participation, and all procedural safeguards
for participants. This law also has 4 sections.

No Child Left Behind Act

January 8, 2002

No Child Left Behind was signed into law by President George W. Bush. This law states that all students
should be proficient in math and reading by 2014. This law had some states asking to not be part of it.
Some schools have been caught falsifying scores while others took it seriously and reported if they were
not proficient.

IDEA Reauthorized

December 3, 2004

The re-authorization of IDEA made many changes to the original. The changes include the IEP, due
process, and student discipline.
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