Look at Me! The Problem with Quotas, Caps, and Disparaging Special Education
Special education, which includes gifted education, is about helping students who learn differently. It’s distressing when a student needs academic support and there is none, or when quotas and caps get in the way of a child’s needs.
It’s also concerning when special education is made to look like a bad placement option. It stigmatizes children who learn differently. It keeps them from getting the truly individualized assistance that they need.
When schools focus on quotas and caps for services instead of looking at the individual child, something is amiss. It means that we can’t rely on school officials and our legislators to do the right thing. They are looking at numbers and data instead of children.
Much of this accelerated with NCLB and standardized testing. It’s also used to deny children services through special education.
The Texas Education Association provides a good example of this. They set an 8.5 percent cap on special education, shutting out many students who deserved services! As the Houston Chronicle stated, The cap wasn’t just illegal, it was morally CONTINUE READING: Look at Me! The Problem with Quotas, Caps, and Disparaging Special Education
