Timeline of Special Education

People In Special Education History

Horace Mann: he lef the movement to provide access to education for all but was just the start. This idea, at the time, did not extend to students with disabilities but would help to be a foundation for the inclusion of truly all students.

Elizabeth Farrell: Began the initial framework for the education of students with disabilities. Farrell was able to invidualize student work and use a hands-on and holistic approuach to education. She then became the first know Special Education Administrator; supervising and supporting teachers, and organizing the admissions of students.. She even helped to begin the start the Psycho-Educational Clinich to see if students respnded to treatment.

Important Leaders of the Past

Stop and Think

How do you think your role is different than the role of previous administrators when working with students recieving special education services?

Question 1

What did this do?

This law assisted with:

• Free and reduced lunches
• Initiatives to help low income families
• Gave additional teachers for low income schools

1965- Special Education Services came about after the the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

What did this do?

1973- The Vocational Rehabilitation Act and Section 504

• Prohibited discrimination for students with disabilities in terms of federal funding
• Provided a deffinition for the term, "appropriate education"
• 504 Plans gave equal access to education,

What did this do?

• Gave students and their families the rights to Due Process
• Gave grants and federal funding for the Gifted and Talented students.

1974- Educational Amendement

1975-1986

1975-1986

Trial

This law focused on Least Restrictive Environment, Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and it required that public education is free for all students with disabilities.

1975- Education for all Handicaped Children Act

What did this do?

Americans with Disabiltieis Act 1990

• Prohibed discrimination for people with dsiabilties, which also affected the equal opportuniy for their employment, serivces, and transportation.

• This was a large step toward society included those with a disability.

• It was also a springboard for how this idea of inclusion would be translated into schools

Unexpected result

1986- Eduation of Handicapped Act Amendment

This amendment:

• Gave children 3-5 access to FAPE.
• Changed the Early Intervention start age to birth- 2 years

What did this do?

IDEA called many items to the forefront for students recieveing special education services and is the main componant that surrounds much of spcecial educaiton law.

For special educaiton administraors, it's paramount to know and understand the elmenets of IDEA becuase it guides so much of what is currenly implemented in schools for students recieving special education serivces.

Individuals with Disabilites Act 1990

These are still major elements of what specual edcation looks like today...

Individuals with Disabilities Act (Amendments 1997)

The ammendments for IDEA gave more rights to students with disabilities and their families.

Under these changes students were beginning to become more included.

These items also require more attention from teachers and administation.

An idea would be to develop a leadership team for special educaiton to ensure staff is up to date on laws and best practices.

What did this do?

No Child Left Behind 2001)

• Early Intervention reading program
• Options of School Choice from failing schools
• Required that teachers be Highly Qualified
• Increased overall accountability on schools

• School were now pressured to make adquette yearly progress to show growth.
• Teachers and students started to feel presure which many still do today.

What did this do?

• Required higher standards for certification for special education teachers.
• increased funding for Early Intervention
• Began the use of RTI (Response to Intervention)
• Today, this allows leaders and staff and show evidence of a need for serives by using data collected from RTI. Upper Moreland currerntly uses the MTSS Model.

IDEA Improvement Act 2004

What did this do?

• More control is with he states for standardized assessments and consequences for low performance
• Only 1% of students can take alternative assessmtns such as the PASA.
• Bully prevention plans were a high focus area.

Every Student Suceeds Act 2015

New Challenges

Covid brought many new challenges. Many of those challenges are ones in a post-covid world. Students mental health has been greatly affected as well as many students social skills, speech language skills, and agrubly many acadmic skills.

COVID-19

Questions to think on...

• What can you do as a leader to help
• What team of people can be used to help normalize school again.
• What can we take from the covid expereince to help better school for everyone?
• How can school be more inclusive?
• What will it take to get there?

Think