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Introduction of Braille
Braille is a system of touch reading and writing for students who are blind. It consists of raised dots that represent the letters of the alphabet, punctuation marks, and symbols to show letter grouping. Braille was named after Louis Braille who took a secret code devised for the military and saw it as an opportunity to transform it into a tool that blind individuals can use to communicate.
Description and History of Braille | American Council of the Blind (acb.org) -
Opening of The American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb
The American asylum for the deaf and dumb took place in Connecticut which was the first permanent school for deaf Americans. The motivation behind the school came from the parents who wanted an education for their deaf children who were constantly referred to as “dumb”, which back then only meant “unable to speak”. In the span of three years, they were found that there were 84 deaf people in the state. 84 deaf people were enough to warrant starting a school. -
School for The Blind
Perkins school for the blind was the first school for blind people in the United States of America. Our founders committed themselves to giving students who are blind, visually impaired, and deaf blind an opportunity to learn. Our fonder opened doors to education, literacy and independence for them and it has changed society ever since. -
The Council for Exceptional Children
The Council for Exceptional Children was organized by a group of enthusiastic individuals who were educators attending the summer session at Teachers College, Columbia University, along with their faculty members. Beginning with 12 members, they became a nationwide organization. -
Brown V Board of Education
The state laws established racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. The 14th amendment, which prohibits the states from denying equal protection of laws to any person within their jurisdiction, was being violated. -
Passage of Rehabilitation Act
The Rehabilitation Act was the United States’ first major federal disability rights law. The act introduced profound change, allowing many qualified individuals with disabilities to enter the workforce. The rehabilitation act has two core provisions that exclusively address employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act
This act demanded all the public schools which accept federal funds to give children with mental and physical disabilities the equal chance to access education. This act demanded public schools to require evaluation processes for children with disabilities to create an educational plan with the parents’ approval which would give them the opportunity to experience education similarly to non-disabled students.
Education for All Handicapped Children Act PL 94 142 (youtube.com) -
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The act which defined disability as a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities”, was signed into law by Pres. George H.W Bush. -
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA is a federal civil rights law that strictly prohibits the discrimination that people with disabilities experience in their everyday lives. Discrimination based on disability is prohibited just as other civil rights laws prohibit discrimination based on race, color sex, national origin, age, and religion. The ADA covers areas such as employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications, and access to state and local government’ programs and services. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act was a U.S federal law that aimed at improving public primary and secondary schools as well as student performance. The law rewrote the elementary and secondary education act and included provisions for disadvantaged students and ESOL students. The law raised public disagreement since schools that didn’t show improvement were penalized.