MISLABELED AS DISABLED

A reformer argues for changes to the special education system.

In this policy book, Hettleman (It’s the Classroom, Stupid, 2010) contends that the majority of students currently in special education programs are being shortchanged by a system that disregards the original intent of state and federal laws. The author asserts that they would be better served by “Response to Intervention,” a framework that combines early diagnosis of learning impairments with short-term additional instruction to students who remain in a standard classroom. Drawing on both research and personal experience as an advocate for pupils while serving on the Baltimore school board, Hettleman makes an impassioned argument (“the purgatory of general education or the hell of special education”) on behalf of the students he calls “Mainly Mislabeled”—to distinguish them from the “Truly Disabled.” The latter have severe cognitive disabilities and benefit from traditional special education. In this volume, the author lays out a cogent case for making changes to the system. Empirical studies are blended with anecdotes from Hettleman’s professional experience to present both a big picture view of the problem and specific instances of how the education system fails students, especially those at a socio-economic disadvantage. The author frequently reminds readers that his quarrel is with the educational establishment and bureaucracy, not with teachers as individuals. Some of his suggestions, like the elimination of local school boards (“The business of K-12 schooling is simply too complicated for very part-time volunteer policy-makers”), are fundamental challenges to the status quo. The book’s solutions include expanded and updated teacher training, centralized systems for curriculum development and instructional methods, and learning plans that include specific measurable goals for all students. In addition, Hettleman offers a cleareyed assessment of the political realities reformers face. The concluding chapters deliver useful guidance for parents advocating for their own children and for activists working on broader education reform. An extensive notes section provides both citations and further discussion. The work’s conversational tone and the author’s evident enthusiasm for the subject make it an easy read for those not well versed in education policy.

An outside-the-box approach to meeting students’ needs gets a worthy and forceful advocate.