The Right to an Education
In the 1950s and 1960s, it was common for public schools to refuse to educate children with IDD—particularly moderate to severe IDD. Here in Jefferson County, special education classes were usually reserved for students with physical disabilities or students with IDD who had achieved qualifying IQ scores. This left many children excluded from public schools—but chapters of The Arc across the nation, including ours, were working hard to spark reform.
Locally, change began to take shape when the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 36 in 1960. The bill created a pilot educational program for children with moderate to severe IDD; school districts across the state could apply to be selected for the program. At the time, our founders had already organized to fight for their children’s educational rights—though our chapter would not formally be recognized as a nonprofit until 1961—and when HB 36 passed, they launched into action. Our founders provided significant support to Jeffco’s special education leaders as they applied for selection, and though the district was not chosen to move forward with the pilot program, our members were not deterred. They presented their recommendations to district leadership in the fall of 1960, prompting the creation of Jeffco’s first classes for students with moderate to severe IDD in 1961.
In the years that followed, our members took an even more hands-on approach. They established their own classes for children with IDD, provided scholarships to potential special educators, and lobbied the state legislature to make special education mandatory—finding success with the passage of the Education of Children with Learning Disabilities Act in 1972. Years later, due to the work of disability advocates across the nation, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act—later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—became law. In part influenced by a court case brought by The Arc of Pennsylvania against the state of Pennsylvania, the federal law guaranteed the right to a free appropriate public education for children with disabilities.
But though IDEA represented an enormous leap forward, the work to protect the right to an education did not stop there. The Arc-JCCGC continued to be a place where families could find support, training, and connection as they navigated the school system, recalls Jo Lynn Osborne. The mother of a child with cerebral palsy, Osborne joined The Arc-JCCGC staff in 1980. She reflects:
“The Arc was key in helping people figure out how to take care of our kids and make sure they got what they needed. We would go to meetings with families, but we also offered training for parents, too. Some of the trainings that we did were actually used around the country. The Arc made a huge difference for people, and it was a place people could feel very comfortable.”
In 1989, Osborne developed Mobilizing Families, a transformational training offered by our chapter that supported family caregivers in navigating special education and services. The training went on to be utilized by chapters of The Arc nationwide and was even translated into European languages. Mobilizing Families continued to be offered by our chapter well into the 2010s.
In the years since, our chapter has carried this momentum forward—and today, we offer a range of resources to support families. Through our Parent Empowerment Series, self-guided trainings, and presentations in the community, we have empowered countless caregivers to advocate for the education that their child deserves.
