Mapping Policy Messages From No Child Left Behind to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act: The Influence of Policy Networks on Educational Reform

• In Event: 58.054 - Power and Politics in State and Federal Policy: Polarized Discourse, Shifting Governmental Arrangements, Subversive Messages, and Influential Policy Networks

Abstract

In this paper, we examine how policy messages pertaining to standards-based reform made there way from the 2001 reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Specifically, we examine the policy networks and messages involved in the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA. We begin with a brief history of standards-based reform, as well as the inclusion movement in special education reform. Then, we draw from social and textual network analysis tools to examine publically available data to “map” influential actors in the transfer of policy messages from NCLB to IDEA. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and political implications of our findings.

Authors

• Laura E. Bray, University of Pittsburgh

• Joshua Childs, The University of Texas - Austin