Beyond Legacy: Interrogating Special Education's Contradictions to Forge Inclusive Futures

• In Event: Unsettling the Present: Multigenerational, Interdisciplinary Dialogues on the Past, Present, and Futures of Inclusive Education

Abstract

Objectives
This paper examines how the U.S. special education system persistently perpetuates systemic exclusion for students of color with disabilities and are sustained through current teacher preparation programs and classroom practices. This paper serves as a forward-looking framework, transformative approach to teacher education and professional development as powerful tools for paving the way for more equitable outcomes.

Theoretical Framework
Underpinned by intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989), we interrogate how the overlapping and interconnected social categories of race, disability, and language shape the experiences of students and families within the education system. We also draw upon the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family–School Partnerships (Version 2) (Mapp & Bergman, 2019) to explore how culturally sustaining practices can be embedded into the U.S. education system, specifically through the training of teachers and their engagement with students and families. Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris, 2012), which advocates for educational practices that not only affirm and value diverse cultural backgrounds but also actively sustain them in the face of dominant cultural norms.

Methods and Data Sources
To understand the systemic perpetuation of exclusion, this paper first traces the historical development of racialized and ableist logics within the U.S. educational system. This historical overview, derived from existing scholarship (e.g., Artiles et al., 2010; Collins, 2013; Sullivan & Thorius, 2010), illuminates how past policies and societal biases have shaped current educational structures and teacher preparation paradigms. This examination also incorporates qualitative insights by centering the parent voice. It specifically draws upon parent narratives from recent research (Gunter, 2019) to illustrate how racialized and ableist assumptions held by educators create complex and often inaccessible systems for families of color with disabilities.

Results
Our analysis reveals a persistent pattern where special education, rather than being a pathway to full inclusion, frequently reproduces systemic exclusion for students of color with disabilities. Our intersectional analysis further demonstrates how this historical context informs current tensions in teacher practice. The presence of implicit biases among educators, variability in the application of instructional strategies, and an underdeveloped appreciation for the cultural funds of knowledge that children and families bring to the classroom can severely obstruct the provision of equitable services and resources. These deficits often stem directly from gaps in initial teacher preparation. Parent narratives powerfully corroborate this, highlighting their ongoing struggle for access, inclusion, and justice, as their children's race, disability, and linguistic backgrounds intersect to compound the challenges they face.

Significance
By leveraging frameworks such as the Dual Capacity Framework, we can embed transformative practices directly into how educators are trained and engage with students and their families. This paper frames the pursuit of inclusive futures not as a static objective, but as an ongoing, dynamic site of collective struggle. It demands a critical historical consciousness, expansive imagination for what is possible, and an unwavering ethical commitment to intersectional justice. Call to action is firmly grounded in the lived experiences of those most affected by systemic contradictions, pointing to role of well-prepared and culturally responsive educators in shaping a truly equitable educational landscape.

Author

• Allison Turner Gunter, Winston-Salem State University