Do Shared Decision-Making Teams Discuss Special Education in Educational Reform Meetings?

Abstract

Authors of recent reports have concluded that U.S. educational reform has ignored special education (President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, 2002). Little is known, however, about how local educational reform efforts consider special education when making decisions that may affect students in special education or special educators. The authors of this study examined the relationships between general education reform and special education by using focused analysis of qualitative data collected through a 3-year, comprehensive project in a suburban district that adopted shared decision-making (SDM) teams and site-based management. Data sources included observations of 86 SDM team meetings and interviews with team members and special educators. Findings from primary, middle, and high schools illustrated that there was little connection between general education reform and special education. Specifically, SDM teams seldom discussed special education. Most team members and special educators did not believe that special education was represented in team discussions. Some strategies for representing special education on SDM teams were occasionally effective (e.g., assigning a team member to represent special education for a specific topic). These findings have important implications for education policy because they are consistent with the 2002 report by the President's Commission. The authors also offer suggestions for future research and practice.