1950's Education | Education of Mentally Retarded Children Act

Law

Date: September 6, 1958

Source: Education of Mentally Retarded Children Act. U.S. Statutes at Large 72 (1958), 1777.

Introduction

The development of common schools in the early nineteenth century was based on the ideal of providing publicly funded education for all children. Certain groups of children, including those with disabilities, were routinely excluded, and the ideal of "schools for all" did not become a reality until the 1970s.

In the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth century, students with disabilities had limited choices. Often denied education in the public schools, most had a choice between staying at home or institutionalization. Some students had access to boarding schools for specific disabilities, such as for the blind or deaf. These specific schools were supported by private donations or, sometimes, by state or federal funds. By 1900, a few...