Leah M. Bueso, University of Illinois Springfield, and Rich Cairn, Emerging America published a groundbreaking foundation and guide to organizing student-led civic engagement projects that are fully accessible to and inclusive of students with disabilities and all learners.

By Rich Cairn, History, Civics & Social Studies Inclusion Specialist, CES

Teaching about Disability in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

Slides from presentation by Rich Cairn at the virtual conference: A More Perfect Union: Exploring America's Story in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, June 17, 2024

A Comprehensive Approach to Full Inclusion

Effective implementation for all learners, especially the 7.5 million Special Education students in the United States, requires careful consideration of accessibility. In particular, educators must pay attention to critical accessibility principles:

Emerging America 2023 Survey on the Teaching of Disability History

By Rich Cairn, Emerging America

At the end of the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, Emerging America widely promoted an online survey of teachers to discover how much they teach disability history. Though the response has been small, the results offer intriguing insights.

Celebrating A Natural and Beautiful Part of Human Diversity

Guest post by Stephanie Polito

July marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the landmark legislation passed on July 26, 1990, that broke down barriers to inclusion in society. Disability Pride Month was first celebrated that same year, taking place in Boston, Massachusetts in the US. Celebrations follow, with the first parade taking place in Chicago in 2004.

Every unit of the Reform to Equal Rights: K-12 Disability History Curriculum includes an introduction to the topic of disability, including strategies to address disrespectful vocabulary. 

 "Why Didn't Anyone Teach Me This?" 

Reform to Equal Rights: K-12 Disability History Curriculum is now open!

Ensure that your digital education projects are fully accessible.

By Rich Cairn

When the Library of Congress launched the national “library service for blind patrons” (NLS) in 1931, it marked a key point in the history of intellectual, professional, and civic life for disabled Americans. The U.S. Government would henceforth take the leading role in ensuring that news, research, literature, and ideas are available nationwide for blind and visually impaired Americans.