Advancing the Social and Emotional Inclusion of Students with Disabilities: From Discourse to Measurement and Practices

• In Event: Disability Justice in (Special) Education Futures: Exploring Critical, Intersectional, and Social and Emotional Dimensions

Abstract

The mission of the Education Collaboratory at Yale is to advance the science of learning and social and emotional development so that all students have the opportunity to be seen, served, and safe to learn in their schools. At the time this proposal was prepared, discussions of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the context of public education system in the US were actively being weaponized by the Trump administration. With educational research in the US at an inflection point, we provide this proposal with the hopes of informing the future of educational research and practice that centers social and emotional inclusion of students with disabilities.
Despite decades of progress, 2025 has witnessed a troubling resurgence of ableist rhetoric across the American political spectrum. A Montclair State University report revealed that after Elon Musk, recently appointed to oversee government efficiency under the Trump administration, endorsed the slur “retard,” its use on X (formerly Twitter) tripled, with over 312,000 instances recorded in just eight days (Benton & Benton, 2025). Meanwhile, Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville drew criticism for suggesting that attention deficit issues in children were once resolved through corporal punishment, stating that instead of medication, children used to get “the belt” (Driscoll et al., 2025, n.p.). In another instance, Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett mocked Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, referring to him as "Governor Hot Wheels" during a Human Rights Campaign event (Beaumont, 2025, n.p.). These incidents, spanning both major political parties, offer a stark reminder of the power of language in shaping public attitudes toward disability. As history has shown, disability discourse, its terminology, assumptions, and underlying models, has never been neutral. It has informed laws, structured institutions, and defined identities. Today, it continues to determine whether people with disabilities are included, supported, or excluded.
What political leaders say and don’t say about disability directly shapes how students with disabilities are treated in our K-12 schools. When disability is discussed in critical and/or deficit-based ways, it signals that the needs and rights of these students are not a priority. This messaging influences how schools are funded, how teachers are trained, and whether classrooms are built to include and support all learners. It determines whether students with disabilities are given the tools they need to learn and thrive or whether they’re pushed aside. Consequently, these narratives also shape how society views and interacts with people with disabilities. They influence how local school board members vote on education funding and inclusion efforts, and how parents and children without disabilities relate to their peers with disabilities. The way leaders talk about disability matters because it sends a message about whose rights are worth protecting and whose education is worth investing in.
This presentation will explore how students with disabilities, like those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, are served across the K-12 continuum. We will present three interrelated bodies of work to advance the social and emotional inclusion of students with disabilities in educational research, practice, and policy. Drawing on our current research with schools and states nationwide, we examine how disability is discussed and positioned in political discourse, and how those messages shape social and emotional learning experiences and broader narratives about inclusion. We further introduce findings from a pre-registered multi-phase study to map, evaluate, and improve social and emotional learning practices at large and measurement tools specifically used to measure K-12 inclusive education practices in the U.S. and around the world. Political language, teaching practices, and educational measurement play a powerful role in shaping societal norms, local decision-making, and educational priorities, with direct consequences for students’ access to equitable and inclusive social and emotional learning opportunities.
Aligned with the 2026 theme of “unforgetting,” we engage with overlooked histories of disability in education and connect those histories to current debates around access, inclusion, and equity. We trace how ableist narratives in U.S. politics influence education policy and practice, using findings from a new mixed-methods project, Disability Discourse Matters, which analyzes how national political leaders publicly frame disability. Using a novel discourse scoring framework rooted in Disability Studies and Critical Discourse Analysis, we evaluate dozens of public statements by high-level officials to understand how deficit-based, dehumanizing, or affirming language contributes to the social and policy environment in which students with disabilities are educated.
Together, these strands of work contribute to a broader discussion about how education research can engage with the past, respond to current challenges, and help shape more inclusive educational futures. By focusing on the intersection of discourse, measurement, and system-level practices, this presentation offers new insights and practical tools for researchers, educators, and policymakers working toward equity for students with disabilities.

Authors

• Christina Cipriano, Yale University

• Michael McCarthy, Yale Child Study Center