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ARC
In the 1950s the Federal Government teamed up with associations such as the ARC to begin developing and validating practices for children with disabilities. The ARC is the largest national community-based organization advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. -
Brown v. Board of Education
On May 17, 1954, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. State-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. This historic decision marked the end of the "separate but equal" precedent set by the Supreme Court nearly 60 years earlier. -
Training of Professional Personnel Act
This act came into effect to help train educational leaders to educate children with learning disabilities. Acts of this nature allowed money from education grants to help with money toward training program administrators, teachers of children with disabilities, and personnel that worked with disabled children. This act emphasizes the benefits of teachers properly trained to help students with disabilities. publiclaw -
The Teachers of the Deaf Act
The Teachers of the Deaf Act provided for the training of instructional personnel for children who were hearing impaired.Congress authorized funds for research into educational media for the deaf. This act helped to establish that deaf students or students with speech and hearing impairments were able to work with and be taught by teachers, speech pathologists, and audiologists specially trained to support them. -
Mills vs. Board of Education
Mills vs. Board of Education of District of Columbia, was a lawsuit filed against the District of Columbia in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The court ruled that students with disabilities must be given a public education even if the students are unable to pay for the cost of the education. -
The Education of all Handicapped Children Act
In 1975, the Education of all Handicapped Children Act introduced the concept of instructing students in the least restrictive environment , mandating that students with
disabilities be educated, to the maximum extent possible, alongside the general student population. -
Introduction of mainstreaming in US Schools.
Initially, children with disabilities were often placed in heterogeneous "special education" classrooms, making it difficult for any of their difficulties to be addressed appropriately. In the 1980s, the mainstreaming model began to be used more often as a result of the requirement to place children in the least restrictive environment. Students with relatively minor disabilities were integrated into regular classrooms. -
Introduction of early intervention
The 1986 reauthorization (Public Law 99-457) addressed early intervention and mandated that individual states provide services to families of children born with disabilities from the time they are born. Previously, these services were not available until a child reached the age of three. -
The Deaf Child's Bill of Rights
In September of 1994, Assembly Bill 1836, "The Deaf Children's Bill of Rights" was signed into law by then-Governor Pete Wilson. This historic legislation acknowledges the essential need for children who are deaf and hard of hearing to be educated in an environment that respects and uses their preferred mode of communication. Hands&voices -
No Child Left Behind Act
Inclusion was adopted when the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, and the goal was to place students in their Least Restrictive Environment to learn. The LRE is the environment with the fewest number of restrictions that a student can find success in. In an inclusive classroom, special education students are in the general education classroom for the entire school day.