Why the Education Reformers Worry about Special Education
Posted on November 12, 2013 with updated changes by Nancy Bailey
I heard someone, a parent or teacher, blurt out at an informal education meeting that education reformers are afraid of special education. I think that person is right. Many of those currently in charge of condemning public schools don’t understand anything about students with disabilities and how they learn.
They must know they are infuriating a lot of parents who have atypical students at both ends of the continuum. In the context of calculating costs and emphasizing student success on test scores, students with disabilities, and gifted and talented students, are a thorn in the reformers side as they try to sell off America’s public schools.
For years special ed. programs were not funded as fully as they should have been especially in poor schools. Teachers struggled to address the needs of students in self-contained classrooms without much support. I remember being told that because I had a master’s degree in special education I would be allotted fewer resources. I received $30.00 fo