Madeleine Will: A Champion for Inclusive Education
Madeleine Will's career significantly impacted the landscape of special education in the United States. Her work within the Department of Education and her advocacy for students with disabilities helped shift the focus towards more inclusive practices. This article explores her contributions and the context in which she advocated for change.
The Landscape Before Change: Unmet Promises of Inclusion
The passage of Public Law (P. L.) aimed to ensure that students with disabilities were educated in the "least restrictive environment." This promise, while significant, faced challenges in its implementation. The system struggled to adapt to the new requirements, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the law.
The United States General Accounting Office challenged the system to make substantive changes in P. L. program management and enforcement, highlighting the need for improvement. It was only in 1984 that the last state, New Mexico, decided to participate in federal funding through P. L.
Despite the intention of integrating students with disabilities, data revealed a slow pace of change. In 1985-86, the distribution of students with disabilities across different educational settings remained largely unchanged from 1975. Approximately 25% of students with disabilities spent most of their time in general classes, 44% in resource rooms, 25% in special classes, and 5% in separate schools and residential programs. Department of Education reports confirmed this trend, noting that placements of students with disabilities changed little between 1977 and 1990. By 1990, only 1.2 percent more students with disabilities were in general education classes and resource room environments: 69.2 percent in 1990 compared with 68 percent in 1977. Placements of students with disabilities in separate classes declined by only 0.5 percent: 24.8 percent in 1990 compared with 25.3 percent in 1977.
Court cases like Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley further defined the requirements for a free appropriate public education. The ruling stated that instruction should be designed to meet the child's unique needs with support services so the child can "benefit" from the instruction.
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These legal and statistical realities underscored a gap between the ideals of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the actual experiences of students with disabilities in schools. While the IDEA and court cases supported a change in direction that did not appear to be unfolding. For instance, in 1983, Roncker v. Walter challenged the assignment of students to disability-specific programs and schools. It is not enough for a district to simply claim that a segregated program is superior. In a case where the segregated facility is considered superior, the court should determine whether the services which make the placement superior could be feasibly provided in a non-segregated setting (i.e., regular class). If they can, the placement in the segregated school would be inappropriate under the act (IDEA). (Roncker v.
Nevertheless, there were many indications that practices continued to violate the purpose of the IDEA and court decisions, therefore many schools districts were not following the laws that established them in the first place.
Madeleine Will and the Regular Education Initiative (REI)
In 1986, a significant shift in thinking about special education and general education began to emerge. This shift was largely influenced by Madeleine Will, who held a prominent position in the Department of Education. She was also the mother of Jon Will, a teenager with Down syndrome.
Madeleine Will raised concerns about some unintended negative effects of special education "pull out" programs. "Pull out programs" refer to resource rooms and special class placements. She noted that, in the ten years since P. L.
Will's critique centered on the idea that schools were relying too heavily on separate programs and specialized services for students with disabilities, rather than adapting the general education program to accommodate their needs. This led to the development of the Regular Education Initiative (REI), which aimed to integrate special education and general education more effectively.
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Key Issues and the Regular Education Initiative (REI)
The debate surrounding special education practices centered around four key issues. and using pull-out programs to serve students with disabilities rather than adapting the general education program to accommodate their needs. Ultimately, the Regular Education Initiative (REI) caused significant changes in the entire approach to special education. There was considerable resistance to these concepts. Many charged that integration and mainstreaming basically meant dumping. The controversy is reflected in the efforts of Doug Biklen and his colleagues to be very clear about what integration did and did not mean. "Dumping" students with disabilities into general programs without preparation or supports.
Beyond Education: The Broader Context of Disability Rights
The movement towards inclusive education coincided with broader efforts to advance the rights of people with disabilities. In the midst of debates surrounding the original 1988 Americans with Disabilities Act, unrest was underway on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. Gallaudet University is the only university where all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. In 1988, students protested the University Board's decision to appoint a hearing president. An interview with Dr I.
The Deputy Secretary of Education's Role
The deputy secretary of education oversees and manages the development of policies in the United States Department of Education. The deputy secretary focuses primarily on K-12 education policy, such as No Child Left Behind, the High School Initiative, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The deputy secretary also has responsibility for carrying out the intergovernmental relations of the department. The office of the deputy secretary coordinates the work of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office of Innovation and Improvement, the Office of English Language Acquisition, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. David T. George H. W. Madeleine M. Marshall S. William D. George W. Eugene W. James H. John King Jr.Acting, Sr. Denise L. Department of Education". ^ a b "US Code: Title 20,3412. Principal officers". ^ "US Code: Title 5,5313. Positions at level II". ^ "Salary Table No. 2006-EX". Archived from the original on August 7, 2007. Deputy Ed. ^ "Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down | CNN Politics". CNN. October 2, 2015. ^ Miguel, Cardona (May 18, 2021).
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