How Two Disability-Inclusive Curriculum State Policies Came to Be: A Narrative Comparative Case Study

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

Abstract

In 2019 and 2022, two separate advocacy coalitions made up of disabled and allied policy actors in neighboring states successfully moved disability-inclusive curriculum policies to adoption in their respective states. This comparative case study explored the stories of how these disability rights advocates made it happen. Data collection and analysis consisted of three phases: (a) analysis of publicly available documents and legislative hearing transcripts, (b) semistructured, accessible interviews with 11 advocacy coalition members, and (c) policy story writing, member checking, and revision. Informed by narrative methods and accessible research design, the findings include two policy stories that tell the tales of how disabled and allied policy actors moved preferred policies through the process from the agenda setting stage to adoption.

Author

• Madeline P. Boehning, Rowan University