Access Reimagined: Disability, Opportunity, and Outcomes for Students with Disabilities under a Graduation Pathway Reform

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Opening Doors or Shifting Barriers? Policy Implementation and Futures of Educational Access

Abstract

This study examines the impact of the April Dunn Act (formerly Act 833) passed by the Louisiana State Legislature in 2014. This legislation created an alternative pathway to receipt of a high school diploma for eligible students with disabilities. As many as 85% of all students with disabilities in Louisiana enter 9th grade eligible for this plan, indicating potential for wide impact. Ten years from the Act’s onset, this study uses quasi-experimental methods to show how this reform influenced school exit (e.g., receipt of standard versus alternative diplomas for this population of students) and labor market outcomes for students with disabilities. Preliminary findings indicate the policy did not impact identification rates but did induce pathway switching.

Authors

• Elizabeth Huffaker, University of Florida

• Katharine Parham Malhotra, University of Virginia