The first special education programs were delinquency prevention programs for at-risk children who lived in urban slums. Urban school districts designed manual training classes as a supplement to their general education programs. By 1890, hundreds of thousands of children were learning carpentry, metalwork, sewing, cooking, and drawing in manual classes. Children were also taught social values in these classes. Early special education programs also focused on the “moral training” of African-American children. Special schools and special classes for children with disabilities, especially deafness, blindness, and mental retardation did exist in 19th century America and gradually increased during the 20th century. Programs for children with specific learning disabilities (called brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, and other terms) became more common in the 1940s (Wrightslaw, 2021).
However, many early special education programs were private and/or residential. The quality and availability of programs varied between and within states. Good special education programs were rare and difficult to access. For most children with disabilities, special education programs were simply not available.
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
In 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court issued a landmark civil rights decision in Brown v. Board of Education. In Brown, school children from four states argued that segregated public schools were inherently unequal and deprived them of equal protection of the laws. The Supreme Court found that African-American children had the right to equal educational opportunities and that segregated schools have no place in the field of public education.
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today, it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment.
These days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right that must be made available to all on equal terms. This impact brought educational rights to all students, regardless of their color, disability, or nationality. The significance of this landmark case resounds with equity, access, and social justice.
In Brown, the Supreme Court described the emotional impact that segregation has on children, especially when segregation has the sanction of the law. To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone. The segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect on black children both academically and socially-emotionally. The impact is greater when it has the sanction of the law; for the policy of separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the black group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn. Moreover, segregation affects the educational and mental development of black children and deprives them of equal access to a racially integrated school system (2021).
Brown's Impact on Students with Disabilities-Development of ESEA
After the decision in Brown, parents of children with disabilities began to bring lawsuits against their school districts for excluding and segregating children with disabilities. The parents argued that, by excluding these children, schools were discriminating against the children because of their disabilities.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)
Congress enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in 1965 to address the inequality of educational opportunity for underprivileged children. This landmark legislation provided resources to help ensure that disadvantaged students had access to quality education. In 1966, Congress amended the ESEA to establish a grant program to help states in the expansion and improvement of programs and projects for the education of handicapped children. In 1970, Congress enacted the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 91-230) in an effort to encourage states to develop educational programs for individuals with disabilities.
According to the National Council on Disability: Congress first addressed the education of students with disabilities in 1966 when it amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grant program to assist states in the expansion and improvement of programs and projects for the education of handicapped children. In 1970, that program was replaced by the Education of the Handicapped Act (P.L. 91-230) that, like its predecessor, established a grant program aimed at stimulating the States to develop educational programs and resources for individuals with disabilities. Neither program included any specific mandates on the use of the funds provided by the grants; nor could either program be shown to have significantly improved the education of children with disabilities.
