Breach of Duty: Conley v. Calkins and the Literacy Industrial Complex

• In Event: Legal Frameworks and Policy Paradigms: Shaping Disability and Access in Education

Abstract

In this study we present a critical discourse narrative analysis (CDNA) of the legal filing, Conley v. Calkins. Drawing on perspectives from Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit; Annamma et al., 2013), we use the case to illustrate how reading disabilities (e.g., dyslexia, dysgraphia, phonological processing disorder) have been politically constructed to benefit white children and families. Taking heed from those before us (Ben-Moshe, 2013; Broderick, 2022; Broderick & Roscigno, 2021; Sleeter, 1987), we argue that these constructions are propelled by what we call the “literacy industrial complex.”

Authors

• Kathleen M. Collins, Pennsylvania State University

• Maggie Beneke, University of Washington