Teach Effectively!

Last week (21 Feb 2007), David Nakamura and V. Dion Haynes of the Washington (DC, US) Post wrote a story about recommendations for changes in special education in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). Under the headline “Fenty Submits Plan for Special-Ed: Changes Would Be Part of Takeover,” they discussed Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s proposal to take over D.C. public schools, including his recommendations for special education.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty yesterday beefed up his proposal to take over D.C. public schools by promising to overhaul special education. If he gains control of the school system, the mayor said, he will expand the placement of disabled children in regular classes, bring special education into compliance with court rulings and cut transportation costs.

To be sure, these are interesting goals, but I have some problems with them.

1. Expand placement regular classes—Good idea, provided that it appropriate for the individual students. That’s part of the reason we have Individualized Education Programs.
2. Compliance with court rulings—Good idea, but see item a above.
3. Cut transportation costs—Another good idea, provided that the cuts does not (i) cause failure to comply with court rulings or (ii) make students have longer bus rides.

What I’d really like to know, though, is whether Mayor Fenty and the people with whom he’s working or proposes to work on the overhaul of DCPS will take this important step: Require DCPS to employ educational practices that have been proven to promote high levels of student outcomes.

Link to the article by Mr. Nakamura and Mr. Haynes.