The Evolution of Special Education: A Journey Towards Inclusion and Equity

Special education, a field dedicated to educating students with individual differences, disabilities, and special needs, has undergone a dramatic transformation throughout history. From exclusion and segregation to inclusion and personalized learning, the journey of special education reflects evolving societal attitudes, legislative milestones, and a growing understanding of the potential of all learners.

Early Exclusion and Segregation

Prior to the 1970s, students with cognitive, physical, or other disabilities were often denied access to public schools. Many were relegated to state institutions, where they received little to no educational instruction. For almost a century, school officials had argued that children with disabilities were uneducable and needed to be kept apart from their peers, both for their own protection and the protection of society writ large. Disability has historically been misunderstood, perceived as a curse, punishment, or linked to racist ideas of inferiority. In the 18th century US, children with disabilities were often kept at home, out of sight, or sent to almshouses.

The first recorded public school class for students who were disabled was established by Elizabeth Ferrell in the New York City public schools in 1899. By the 1920s, hundreds of school districts in more than half of the states had established public school special education programs, almost all of them housed in separate classrooms or buildings.

In the early years, the earliest schools for disabled children in New York City were started by philanthropists who learned teaching methods from European educators who had had some success teaching Deaf, blind, and intellectually disabled children. Some of these early schools were day schools, and others were residential schools, where children lived while they were educated. The initial goals of these residential institutions were to try to rehabilitate those who could adapt to their disability and fit in with society, but they soon became places to segregate Disabled people away from society.

As compulsory schooling took effect in the late 19th century, the charitable schools became publicly funded, and new categories of children were created. Elizabeth Farrell, a social welfare reformer, pioneered an "ungraded class" for children pushed out of school due to behavior problems, limited English proficiency, or disability. By 1908, the public school system’s special education system was taking shape, with a special institution for truants, and classes for the “mentally defective,” “incorrigibles,” “deaf-mutes,” and the blind.

Landmark Legislation and the Rise of Inclusion

The mid-20th century marked a turning point, with the concept of special education taking shape as schools began to implement separate programs specifically designed to meet the needs of children with disabilities.

A pivotal moment occurred in 1975 with the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA), later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This landmark legislation mandated that public schools provide free appropriate education (FAPE) to children with disabilities. IDEA guarantees that children with learning disabilities will receive a free and appropriate public education, which includes services and accommodations.

The EHA was a seminal law in the history of special education, designed to protect the rights of, meet the needs of and improve results for children and youth with disabilities. This act helped bring federal funds into schools to create special education services and programming for children with disabilities and learning differences. Congress reauthorized IDEA in 2004 and continuously revises and updates the law, incorporating what educators, families and researchers learn about how best to serve children.

One of the key provisions of IDEA was the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) mandate, which emphasized that children with disabilities should be educated alongside their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. As an example, this means that, in the absence of other complicating factors, it is illegal to separate children who use wheelchairs or other assistive equipment from children who do not require such assistance.

The 1970s brought more significant improvement to the lives of special education students than any other decade in special education history. During its reauthorization in 1997, EHA underwent a number of substantial revisions and became known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The onset of IDEA brought about a widespread focus on providing the best-researched, most effective methods for special education teaching. Now, not only were students guaranteed an equal education, they were provided with viable schooling options and the individualized attention they needed.

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The Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) was instrumental in writing IDEA, and it has undergone several revisions since it began as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA). IDEA is updated about every five years, with the latest iteration in 2004. The reason for the consistent updating is to give the LDA a chance to see how the law works in practice, and what is needed to make it more clear, efficient, and effective.

In the early 1970s, a simultaneous movement across the country resulted in the passage of important federal and state laws. Historically, children with disabilities were identified only if their educational needs were obvious. Thousands of students with disabilities were excluded from attending public schools.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, amended in 1992, includes Section 504, which affirms the right of any student or adult who has a mental or physical impairment which inhibits a major life activity including learning; has a history of such an impairment; or is considered by a team of knowledgeable individuals to have such an impairment, from being discriminated against in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. This Act also requires that students be given a free appropriate public education in general education classes, with necessary supplementary aids and services, if they are determined by a school team to be disabled under Section 504 or the Americans with Disabilities Act (A.D.A.).

A few significant events that lead to the passing of the act include: The “Sign 504!” Protests begin. The lack of regulations created for Section 504 meant it was difficult for the law to be enforced. In April of 1977, 10 protests emerged across the country to pressure the government to sign the regulations for Section 504. These protests took the form of sit-ins in Health, Education, and Welfare offices, and the sit-in in San Francisco lasted 26 days. A group of protestors visited Washington DC in an attempt to speak to President Carter, but were avoided.

The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) was reauthorized, and the name was changed to Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The ‘Capitol Crawl’ cemented the passing of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The process to turn the ADA into law had been stalled, which led protestors to protest at the Capitol on March 12th, 1990. IDEA was reauthorized again, and it included an addition of a requirement that the general education teacher should be part of the IEP team.

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Contemporary Approaches and Ongoing Challenges

Today, special education encompasses a range of approaches and services designed to meet the diverse needs of students with disabilities.

Key Components of Special Education

Individualized Education Program (IEP): A cornerstone of special education, the IEP is a legally binding document that outlines a student's unique learning issues, specific educational goals, and the services and accommodations necessary to achieve those goals.
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): IDEA mandates that students with disabilities be educated with their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent appropriate. This principle promotes inclusion and ensures that students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum and social environment.
Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS): An educational framework increasingly adopted to meet the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of all students. MTSS typically consists of three tiers of support, promoting early identification of needs and reducing inappropriate referrals to special education by providing timely, data-driven support within general education settings.

Placement Options

Schools use different approaches to providing special education services to students:

Inclusion: Students with special needs spend all, or most of the school day with students who do not have special needs.
Mainstreaming: Students with special needs are educated in classes with non-disabled students during specific time periods based on their skills.
Segregation: Students with special needs do not attend classes with non-disabled students, attending a separate classroom or special school.
Co-teaching: Students with special needs are placed in a general education classroom to learn along with their disabled and non-disabled peers, with a general education teacher and a special education teacher working as partners in instruction.

Identification Methods

For students with less obvious disabilities, such as those who have borderline intellectual disability or specific learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, etc.), two primary methods have been used for identifying them:

The discrepancy model: This model depends on the teacher noticing that the students' achievements are noticeably below what is expected, at which point the teacher may make the decision for the student to receive support from a special education specialist.
The response to intervention model: This approach identifies children who are having difficulties in school in their first or second year after starting school. They then receive additional assistance such as participating in a reading remediation program.

Unfinished Business

Despite the progress made, special education continues to face several challenges:

Systemic inequities: Special education, like education as a whole, continues to be plagued with the same systemic racism, ableism, and other discriminatory practices that exist in society overall.
Achievement gaps: Student outcomes remain worrisome for too many students with disabilities.
Funding disparities: The federal government has historically failed to fully fund IDEA, leading to financial constraints at the state and local levels.
Implementation gaps: It’s difficult to achieve meaningful change in public education and that it’s always easier to follow the letter of the law than to embrace it in spirit. Drill down a bit deeper, though, and the picture doesn’t look so positive, especially for students with intellectual disability: The 2020 data show that only 17.4% of these students spent 80% or more of their day in general education settings.

The Future of Special Education: Personalization, Equity, and Excellence

Looking ahead, the future of special education lies in embracing personalized learning, promoting equity and belonging for all students, and moving beyond a focus on disorder and impairment toward an appreciation for strengths, passions, and abilities.

Key Strategies for the Future

Personalized learning: Tailoring instruction to meet the unique needs and interests of each student, recognizing that every child has a unique profile influenced by their particular experiences and opportunities.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Creating flexible learning environments that accommodate a wide range of learning styles and abilities.
Early intervention: Identifying and addressing learning difficulties early on to prevent academic and social-emotional challenges.
Collaboration: Fostering collaboration between special educators, general educators, families, and community members to create a supportive and inclusive learning environment.
Advocacy: Continuing to advocate for policies and funding that support equitable access to high-quality special education services.

Moving Beyond Traditional Approaches

Reconsidering school systems: Education reformers have long called for radical reforms of an antiquated education system that was created for a society that was still largely agrarian, at a time when low-skilled factory work was the fastest-growing part of the labor market.
Adopting schoolwide applications: Rather than advocating for the rest of the school to adopt practices that meet the needs of the particular children we serve, we should have advocated for schoolwide applications that ensure that “previously specialized adaptations and strategies are used to enhance the learning of all students”.
Recognizing unique profiles: Our existing school system relies on two flawed assumptions: first, that “there is a set of skills and knowledge everyone must have in order to live a successful life in the world,” and second, that “all children are capable of and interested in acquiring the skills and knowledge at a similar pace".

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