 Prior to the 1950s  Institutionalized education- schools for the deaf and blind, residential institutions for mentally retarded  Eugenics- forced sterilization  Virginia passed sterilization law  By 1927, 27 states were sterilizing “undesirables”  Social Security Act included assistance to blind and disabled children

 Rehabilitation for wounded veterans  Red Cross terminated program designed to help wounded veterans use their prosthetics  Parent organized advocacy groups were formed in large numbers

 Push to advocate for independent living  Social Security Administration created program to aid permanently and totally disabled persons  Brown v. Board of Education- separate, but equal is unconstitutional (catalyst for argument against institutionalized settings)

 Kennedy’s panel on mental retardation  American National Standard Institute- architectural access codes for buildings  Kennedy’s speech- resulted in deinstitutionalization and increased community services  South Carolina- 1 st statewide architectural access code

 Elementary and Secondary Education Act- federal money given to schools who would educate the youth with disabilities  Architectural Barriers Act- no barriers in all federally owned or leased buildings  California- Transit system would be the first rapid transit system to accommodate wheelchairs

 All new mass transit vehicles to be equipped with wheelchair lifts- implementation was delayed for 20 years so this really did not happen until 1990  First legal definition of developmental disabilities were given  1971 U.S. District Court case stated that people in residential state schools and institutions have a constitutional right to receive treatment that would help them improve their condition- NO MORE CUSTODIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT DID NOT PROVIDE EDUCATION OR TREATMENT

 1971 Fair Labor Standard Act- disabled people (other than blindness) into the workshop system  D. C. court case- disabled children could not be excluded from the public schools  Social Security Amendments- families could receive financial assistance for caring for their adult disabled children

 Rehabilitation Act of created Sections 501, 503 and 504. If receiving federal funds, “No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States, shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”

 first handicap parking stickers issued in Washington, D.C.  Highway Act called for the construction of curb cuts (wheelchair accessibility)  amendment to ESEA- first to mention an appropriate education for all children with disabilities  Family Education Rights and Privacy Act- gave parents and students over the age of 18 the right to examine student’s personal file

 Education of All Handicapped Children Act (PL )- first real special education law  Called for FAPE (free and appropriate education) in the LRE (least restrictive environment)  Eventually renamed IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act)

 Supreme Court case- people cannot be institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital against their will unless they are determined to be a threat to themselves or to others  Parent Information and Training Centers to be established as part of PL

 FCC authorized closed captioning  Higher Education Act amended to provide services to physically disabled students entering college

 The Reagan Administration terminated Social Security benefits to hundreds of thousands disabled recipients  “Baby Doe”- parents advised by doctors to decline surgery of a blocked esophagus because baby had Down’s Syndrome. Baby starved to death before legal action was taken  Mandated telephone access for deaf and hard of hearing at public telephones (TDD)

 “Baby Jane Doe”- denied medical care because of her disability- court case resulted in the passage of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments  Supreme Court- schools must pay the expenses of a disabled child enrolled in a private program during litigation under PL if court rules it is the most LRE  Supreme Court- localities cannot use zoning laws to prohibit group homes from opening in a residential area just because residents are disabled

 mandated services for preschoolers, statewide system of early intervention services for infants  airlines cannot refuse service to people simply because they are disabled and cannot charge more for disabled passengers  School authorities cannot expel or suspend or otherwise move disabled children from the setting agreed upon in the IEP without a due process hearing. If student is found that behavior/action is linked to their disability, they seldom serve punishment

 ADA- Americans with Disabilities Act signed by George W. Bush  Comprehensive civil rights protection for people with disabilities  All programs receiving federal funds must be accessible  Businesses with more than 15 employees must make “reasonable accommodations” for disabled workers  Public facilities like restaurants have to ensure access for the disabled  Transportation and communication or any area of public life must be accessible

 PL becomes IDEA  California district affirmed the right of disabled children to attend public school classes with non-disabled children (affirmed LRE and inclusion)  first Down’s Syndrome patient to receive a heart-lung transplant

 IDEA amended- disabled students to participate in statewide and districtwide assessments, measureable IEP objectives, BIPs  ADA included the definition of asymptomatic HIV as a disability  ADA includes persons in state prisons

 Virginia passed resolution expressing regret for its eugenics practices between 1924 and 1979  NCLB-2001  2004-IDEA amended