Fixing Special Education…is out!

It’s amazing… my book, Fixing Special Education–12 Steps to Transform a Broken System is out…. It is available at www.parkplacepubs.com. Lots of interest and sales so far. People are looking to fix the system–at least that is what I’m sensing. We need to reduce litigation, reduce the climate of fear of litigation, reduce paperwork and bureaucratic burdens, and why? To increase student learning, teacher time on task, parent and school cooperation. And why? To improve results for all students. It’s all pretty basic and rather clear.

Not so quick, apparently. See the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly front-page story on November 23, 2009. www.masslawyersweekly.com.
It is headlined “Cases with Special Needs,” and discusses the rise in special education litigation, the fact that big corporate lawfirms are getting into the act and making the lawsuits far more complex and costly. Can that be because their own business litigation is suffering in this economy?

How sad it all is. The story’s tagline is “With school resources dwindling, special education disputes attract lawyers.” Less money for kids and more for lawyers. Wow. That is so the wrong approach. It is not the way to achieve school reform–improved teaching and learning for all students.