Legislation

Public legislation is a third factor that helped create a right to education for children with disabilities culminating in the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EHA). The course of public legislation can be traced through three separate periods, each of which laid the foundation for future laws. These three periods are:

1. The Early Period (1800-1940)
2. Post World Wars I & II, and
3. The Formative Years - 1970s

While these divisions are somewhat arbitrary on my part, they do provide a framework for us to briefly review several laws that preceded, and established the precedent for the EHA As you read through this lesson, do not worry about memorizing the names of laws or the specific provisions of each. Get a flavor for the progression from early to late periods. The information your are required to remember is more general in nature. Be sure to focus on the relationship of laws to disabilities.

The Early Period (1800-1940)

During this, the early period of disability-related law, the emphasis was placed on serving persons with certain disabilities, most notably those with deafness or visual impairment. Since the service delivery system was deeply rooted in an institutional model of education and training, federal funds were committed to support state schools for the care and training of individuals with disabilities that were more visible to society at large. Thus, early legislation targeted these facilities, and in rare instances the staff who served in the facilities, as recipients for federal dollars. This early legislation, though narrow in scope, was useful as a springboard for later efforts to assist persons with disabilities.

Highlights of the early period of legislation:

• In 1855 federal funds were committed to support asylums for the insane
• PL 34-5 - founded the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf, Dumb and Blind
  • Galluadette College for the Deaf established in Washington, D.C.

PL 35-59 provides training for teachers, service providers and to maintain Columbia School.

• PL 45-186 provided funding to establish the American Printing House for the Blind.

The legislation of this period clearly established the role of the federal government in providing programs, albeit on a limited scope, for persons with disabilities.

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Post World Wars I & II

In the periods immediately following World Wars I and II, America was faced with a serious problem of caring for the large numbers of disabled veterans. To this point in our history, we had not been faced with the magnitude nor the degree of injuries that were sustained in modern warfare. The injuries that were sustained in these conflicts were to change the way we viewed disabilities. For the first time, we recognized traumatic brain injury (though not called that), and some less severe learning problems. In response, Congress embarked on a series of laws to increase services to the veterans. of our nation's wars. Coincidentally, these same laws significantly aided others with disabilities not caused by war or conflict.

It was also during the latter stages of this period that the two administrations we discussed earlier were active in promoting the needs of the poor and persons from minority backgrounds and persons with disabilities. Most notably, during the Johnson administration, a series of laws were enacted to improve access to an appropriate education. This very legislation was used to usher in provisions for the education of children with disabilities by attaching a "coat tail" bill that created additional federal support for early special education programs.

Highlights of the post World Wars period:

• 25 bills were passed to assist persons who were blind (many veterans. suffered visual impairments)
• Congress passed the Citizens Rehabilitation Act of 1954.
  • expanded rehabilitation funding
  • provided services to persons with mental retardation and mental illness
  • provided the first mention of mental retardation in public law

Education-related legislation of the Johnson administration:

• PL 89-10 The Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965
  • provided educational funding in the form of non-supplanting (cannot be used to free funds to be used in other areas) grants to local educational agencies
  • federal dollars are committed to enriching the curriculum for economically disadvantaged youth
  • Chapter I - a reading and math supplemental program for disadvantaged youth - was created
• PL 89-313 Federal Assistance to State Owned and Operated Schools for the Handicapped
  • extends federal funding to state schools for persons with disabilities
• PL 89-750 Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1966
  • provided federal funding for the education of children with disabilities in public schools
  • this law allowed those schools who chose to provide special education services to use federal funds to expand their special education programs.

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The Formative Years - the 70s

The late 1960s and throughout the 1970s saw a proliferation of federal legislation for persons with disabilities. It is during this time that many of the major pieces of federal legislation that we have come to know today were established. These years were instrumental in establishing special education and in firmly establishing a host of civil rights that persons with disabilities enjoy today. As with previous periods, broader social legislation carved out additional rights and priviledges for persons with disabilities.

Highlights of legislation of the formative period:

• PL 92-223 The Social Securities Act of 1971
  • modified Medicare to improve the care of persons in institutions
  • provided hospital insurance for the elderly and certain persons with disabilities
• PL 92-424 Economic Opportunity Act of 1972
  • created Head Start and required that 10% of all students served by these programs be identified as handicapped.
  • established an early intervention service delivery system for children with disabilities
• PL 93-112 The Rehabilitation Act of 1974
  • provided comprehensive rehabilitation services to persons with a broad range of disabilities
  • one significant portion of this law, Section 504, included specific language to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities and special education services
  • click here to learn more about Section 504.
• PL 94-103 The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act
  • created a right to treatment and minimum standards for the operation of residential facilities for persons with developmental disabilities
  • mandated individualized habilitation plans
  • created a Protection and Advocacy system in each state (in Arizona this is the Center for Disability Law) to protect the rights of persons with developmental disabilities
• PL 93-380 The Education of all Handicapped Children Act of 1974
  • increased federal funding to $600 million
  • guaranteed least restrictive environment and due process rights
  • created grants for gifted and talented children
  • provided funding for service centers, training, research, and LD research and demonstration grants.

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Go on to Topic 3: Types of Special Education Services for Students with Mild Disabilities

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E-mail the instructor at Larry.Gallagher@nau.edu

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