Is There Hope for Change? Educational Debt, the Pandemic, and Racial Inequity in Special Education

• In Event: Academic Outcomes During Times of Crises. Hanging Onto Hope: Studying the Dynamics of Schooling in Times of Crisis

Abstract

Due to the pandemic, significant changes were made to how educational services were delivered to students, including students with disabilities. A racial reckoning also appeared to grip the nation after the murder of George Floyd. The seismic societal currents meant that decades old equity questions about the purpose of special education were seen in a new light. In this paper I examine how educators in an urban school district made sense of racial inequity in special education outcomes as their district made both a public and private commitment to anti-racist work during the pandemic. I qualitatively examined what policies were put into place and what practices ensued that either fostered racial equity or maintained the status quo.

Author

• Catherine Kramarczuk Voulgarides, Hunter College