Deaf Education in America: Examining the Shift from a Privilege to a Right

Citation: Yuman Wu, "Deaf Education in America: Examining the Shift from a Privilege to a Right", Universal Library of Arts and Humanities, Volume 02, Issue 02.

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This paper explores the evolution of disability rights in the United States, particularly the history of deaf education. The research addresses the question of how deaf education in the United States has evolved from the 19th to the 20th century, providing a holistic view of the broader disability rights movement during this period. Using a combination of interviews, primary sources, and secondary sources, the paper argues that through important activism and legislation, deaf education transformed from a private burden to a public responsibility. The history of this transformation is crucial to understand, especially in the twenty-first century political landscape where the right to a free and public education for deaf people may be compromised through the dismantling of the Department of Education.

Keywords: Deaf History, Disability History, Deaf Rights, Disability Rights, Deaf Education, Disability Education, Responsibility to Rights, Disability Activism, Disability Legislations, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Rehabilitation Act of 1973, IDEA Funding, Thomas Hopkin Gallaudet, Laurent Clerc, Dr. Mason Fitch Cogswell.

https://doi.org/10.70315/uloap.ulahu.2025.0202002