James J. Gallagher, the first chief of what was then called the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped in the U.S. Office of Education, has died. He was 87.
In that role, Mr. Gallagher oversaw new federal legislation representing the first major efforts to ensure a proper education for children with disabilities.
He was also the former director of the University of North Carolina’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and a senior scientist emeritus, as well as a former professor in UNC’s school of education.
Mr. Gallagher also played a major role in developing the North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics, the first residential school of its kind focusing on talented students in science and mathematics.
