Arne Duncan flunks again

Marla Kilfoyle and Melissa Tomlinson, Bad Ass Teachers - Over the past several months, the [US Depatment of Education] has sent down proposed changes to how children with disabilities are taught. The changes that are being suggested are not rooted in peer- reviewed research but are just broad general statements that Secretary Duncan likes to use to drive special education policy. The USDOE claims that 6.5 million students with disabilities are not receiving a quality education. The USDOE would require proof that these kids aren’t just being served, but are making academic progress. “We know that when students with disabilities are held to high expectations and have access to a robust curriculum, they excel,” Duncan said. Show us the research, Arne! Where in peer-reviewed research does it say that students with disabilities are NOT receiving a quality education? Where in peer- reviewed research does it say that you educate a child with disabilities 1, 2, or 3 grade levels above his or her capability?...

To further complicate matters the USDOE and Duncan hope to punish states that don’t comply with the new guidelines, causing them to lose federal funding. Sadly, by punishing states for noncompliance it only hurts children, and specifically in this case, children with disabilities. ...

Duncan and the USDOE would add an amendment to the regulations governing Title 1, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. This amendment would phase out the state’s ability to define and modify academic achievement standards and develop alternative assessments for children with disabilities. In other words, states have been able to modify curriculum and tests for children with disabilities in order to level the playing field for them. The USDOE would like to phase this out. These amendments that allow the state to modify curriculum and tests were inserted into Title 1 regulations in 2007. They permit the states to modify curriculum for students with disabilities, specifically those whose disability made it difficult for them to achieve grade-level proficiency. Why would Duncan and the USDOE want to remove this? This important measure that states and teachers use today to make our children with disabilities successful in school is working (see graduation rates for students with disabilities – they are on the rise). Currently, states and teachers are allowed to move a child with disabilities at their pace, with curriculum broken down and tests modified so that children can understand it. The USDOE wants to take that away from the states, the children, and the teachers.