The Dark Underbelly of Your American School District part 9:

The Unspoken Myth Underlying the Denial of Special Education Services

People don’t generally go into the business of public education, unless they hold real hope for teaching. I suspect educators often feel a true calling to teach children. Yet, as we’ve seen, again and again, general education teachers, resource teachers, school psychologists, special education directors, even judges will often deflect student evaluations and deny services.

Why would dedicated educators become obstacles to special education?

Some of the problem is simple ignorance of learning differences. A real teaching disability exists amongst educators when it comes to identifying and working with neuro-atypical learners. They are simply not being taught what to look for and how to teach to the array of minds within their classroom. They are still being taught how to teach so called, “normal” students, and that “special education” students are “for someone else to teach.”

And this brings us to the crux of it all. Why we fail. Because if you believe there are “normal” kids and “special” kids, if you believe that most kids in class are “normal” and only a few are “special needs,” then why would you allow our limited funds to be “taken away” from all the normal kids to help out a few kids with problems? We don’t have enough funding for schools anyway so why should we allow a few special kids to benefit from extra money? Supposedly, there are separate funds for general education and special education, but a big expense in one area is gonna get shifted from another.

In short, people think that funding special education takes money away from “normal” kids. And by “people” I mean, teachers, administrators, lawyers, judges, and many parents. The problem with this is that if 30% (or more) of the average classroom has a neuro-atypical way of learning, then we’re really talking about general education. It’s not one or two kids getting all the money at the expense of everyone else. Furthermore, the types of teaching that work with neuro-atypical learners benefit all learners. The interventions that help an ADHD kid learn executive function skills can help all kids learn organization and time management. Graphic organizers and scaffolding of tasks can help all writers. Structured literacy helps all kids.

The consequences when we fail these kids are both serious and expensive. We have the school to prison pipeline that is full of kids with learning disabilities. We have the school to addiction pipeline that is also full of kids with learning differences. And then tragically, we have the connection of unaddressed disabilities leading to anxiety and teen suicide.

The previous Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Katy Neas,* has said, “We’re going to pay for the needs of these individuals one way or the other. And if we give kids more opportunities in school, they’re going to be independent adults. They’re going to need less support throughout the rest of their lives.”

“I kind of feel like, pay me now or pay me later. The investments we make in education for students with disabilities, we will reap the benefits of that for decades to come.” She goes on to say, “If we could change attitudes that would be by far the most important thing we could do.”

Coming Next Week: Anxiety: A Red Flag for Child Find

I’m working on a book about special education and seeking families, teachers, and school professionals with stories to tell. If you’ve been through this struggle, I’d love to hear from you. Everything will, of course, be confidential. You can reach me at: 241kcawley@gmail.com

Follow me. Followers create the “platform” that publishers require to consider a non-fiction book. I’ll write the book about special education. Help me get it published by following me.

* https://www.wdbj7.com/2022/08/22/unequal-education-special-education-policies-differ-state-state/

*Ms. Neas is now the CEO of The Arc of the United States.

https://thearc.org/blog/the-arc-of-the-united-states-names-katherine-neas-as-its-next-ceo/