Special Education: Complexity, Compassion & Courage
Elementary through high school students are entitled to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A free and appropriate education is designed to meet a student’s unique needs so that he/she may further his/her education, be employed, and live independently. Each student covered by the IDEA must make progress on their individualized goals and objectives, which is reasonable given their specific profile. (Endrew F. Court Case) This is what the law says!
But what happens when disabilities are not detected, services are not delivered, or the goals and objectives mandated by a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) are not addressed? Parents, students, and many educators need help navigating this process.
I spoke with Attorney Andrew A. Feinstein, a special education attorney in Connecticut who has been practicing in the field for over 30 years. He has tremendous expertise in litigating cases and lobbying for change.
Attorney Feinstein set out three ways to make change in this field: (1) bring individual cases through litigation to get school districts to comply with the law; (2) further legislative change by liaising with state legislatures, school boards, and Congress, and (3) collaborate with, and organizing community groups of parents who speak out at local school board meetings. A conversation with him reflects the complexities of our current educational system and the empathy and understanding that are paramount to change.
Complexity
The IDEA entitles each student to a free and appropriate public education. However, every state has its own education laws, and at the state level, individual districts operate differently. What do you think about this system and its effectiveness?
Historically, education was local. It started with the first revival movement in the 1830s and the nativist notion to acculturate German and Irish immigrants. We wanted to make them Americans. The idea was to bring them all to public school - the central place to create a new America. Public schools were compulsory. Today, about 90% of all kids go through the public school system. In Connecticut, it's a little lower, but that's the national average, and there is a growth in homeschooling.
Heading back to the 1830s…
Federal Government Involvement
The US Department of Education spends much time drafting guidance and best practices. But not mandates.
The federal government got involved for two reasons. First, it came through a funding mechanism starting with the National School Lunch Act in 1946, where the feds gave states money in exchange for (sort of like on a contract) their compliance with the federal law. The second piece was based on civil rights. The Supreme Court case Brown versus Board of Education and the IDEA were examples of civil rights-based statutes that led to federal intervention. Even with this federal involvement, the default is that education is the province of the states and localities.
Within Connecticut, each of our 200 or so school districts has its own responsibilities and board, and the State Department of Education has little power to order actions. The Right to Read legislation is one of the few cases where the legislature decided the State Department of Education had the authority to order school districts to take action.
Effectiveness of the System
Our test scores throughout the country are dismal and not getting any better. There's so much wrong with how we teach kids right now that I'm not sure a uniform practice or national system of education would make it better. A lot of local experimentation means some neat stuff is happening in various places, and if it works and it's cost-effective, other districts pick it up. What do people need to know to be an educated person? That takes deep thinking of people, not necessarily part of the system.
Trend in National Assessment of Educational Progress
One of the things that the US Department of Education does is it has a website entitled What Works. They review many interventions and discuss which have evidence to demonstrate success. We are in a rapidly changing world. Is it important to learn how to write if you've got artificial intelligence to write for you in the future? Is it important to learn your math facts when you can go to your phone and use the calculator for anything you want? What is education going to look like in the future?
“Our test scores throughout the country are dismal and not getting any better. There’s so much wrong with how we teach kids right now that I’m not sure a national system of education would make it better ... What do people need to know to be an educated person? That takes deep thinking of people, not necessarily part of the system. ”
Compassion
You touched on changing the current educational system. If you had a magic wand, how would you use it?
“The only effective education occurs when teachers love their students and love each student individually. We so often have teachers who have real concerns about students, and in many cases, they are afraid of their students. If I could bring love into the educational setting, I think most of these problems would resolve themselves. “
What brings you greatest joy in your work, and is there a specific moment that fuels it?
I wrote and presented testimony to the legislature on abolishing all out-of-school suspensions and expulsions because they are not educationally sound. They are just meant to make the Superintendent feel more powerful. They have no benefit. I said that in a very impassioned way before the Education Committee, which brought me real joy. It brought me even more joy when one member started to argue with me about it. That is pleasure for me.
What have you found your greatest challenge in this field?
As a litigator, the fact that judges and hearing officers do not understand the system is incredibly frustrating. Parents have rights, and kids have rights. They do not understand that the law is there for a purpose and that you should interpret the law, consistent with that purpose, rather than with a sort of strange literalism that results in very bad outcomes.
Courage
How do we enable and empower parents and educators to better understand special education law and their rights?
Advocating for the Student at an Individualized Education Program Meeting
Let me answer another question instead. I think one of the things that disempower parents is this notion of secrecy — that parents are told to be embarrassed that their child has a disability and all the confidentiality that exists by law. If parents were willing to stand up and say, “Yes, my kid is terrific. Yes, my kid has autism. Yes, my kid acts out, but my kid is terrific and deserves an appropriate education.” — then we can make a change. As long as parents hide and won't speak publicly and are afraid to be disclosed and think that somehow it’s a reflection of their own failure that their child was born with a disability, we are not going to get anywhere.
My blog is titled The Shoes We Wear in honor of people with differences and the folks who support them. What shoes are you wearing? I am wearing these sort of almost like boat shoes, except they're much more structured than a boat shoe.
More resources and information about Special Education to be found on the Inspiration page.