It is interesting that so many titles and posts I write involving school reform have to do with loss. The resource class for students with learning disabilities and sometimes behavioral problems is one more loss when it comes to students and their public schools. Resource classes were designed to help students in elementary, middle and […]
Language that Frightens Parents and Teachers of Students with Disabilities
The recent report about special education from Washington State is not alone in its use of frightening language about what is happening to programs for students with disabilities. Many states are using the get tough talk, following Arne Duncan’s lead. And there are many parents who no longer accept the idea of special education. They […]
Using Students with Special Needs to Privatize Public Schools
Education Week came out with an article pondering a serious question. How can you have special education charter schools and still call it inclusion? HERE. I wondered, were the school reformers going to do the following: Return or ramp-up the old model of resource and self-contained classes within the traditional public school system? Pull together […]
Do Public School Students Need Special Ed. Anymore?
Do we need special education anymore? Some parents might say no—that a regular class with high expectations, possibly some support, is all that is necessary. Arne Duncan has stated that students with disabilities should rise to the same level as other students. He has called for a “major shift” in how special education students are […]
The Destruction of Special Education
The firing of a special education supervisor and the subsequent elimination of the position, in Wilson County, Tennessee prompted me to address concerns about a concerted effort underway to dismantle special education. There are signs all over. Most likely you have noticed them too. In the case of Wilson County, Director of Schools Tim Setterlund […]
Special Olympics—Endangered?
Recently, Special Olympics celebrated the anniversary of their 1976 event. This is a picture of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and a young competitor and winner from back then posted on the Special Olympics site on August 22. As a young college student, almost ready to graduate with a degree in special education, I volunteered in the […]