A Special Education

The Personal

At the age of seven my parents and teachers were concerned that I was not making progress with my reading. At my mother’s insistence I had frequent visits in school from adults I did not know to determine the problem. I recall going into another room and doing a variety of reading activities. My teacher was obviously frustrated and by second semester I was placed in the lowest second grade class. My teacher first grade teacher must have believed me to have ability because I was originally placed in the highest second grade class.

I was young for my grade with a late July birthday. My mother became convinced that was the issue and that I should be held back. This was well before special education existed in schools. When I started second grade the second time, I was put back in the advanced class and began fake reading chapter books because my classmates seemed to devour them. I eventually read proficiently and took advanced classes.

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I had significant interest in all sorts of activities and topics and talked a lot.

I never recall feeling any sort of inferiority through early education. I had significant interest in all sorts of activities and topics and talked a lot. This got me into trouble in early elementary but became a benefit when I participated in class discussions later. I have always considered myself a slow yet determined reader.

A New Understanding

While studying to become a teacher in college, one of the most impactful classes I took was called “Childhood Psychopathology.” I was fascinated by the variety of child disorders described in the class and that is where I first discovered petit mal. I quickly deduced that I had that syndrome as a child that adults identified as daydreaming. The variety of serious disabilities described in the course began to make me aware of the difficulty many children experience and the potential barriers that prevent an independent life.

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When I saw students with reading problems similar to mine assigned an

Individualized Education Plan (IEP), I would wonder if that would

have been my fate had special education existed?

As my career advanced from classroom teacher to principal over thirty eight years, I had frequent encounters with special education students and teachers. When I saw students with reading problems similar to mine assigned an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), I would wonder if that would have been my fate had special education existed. I got eventually excelled in school. Would this have been possible were I following an IEP that might not challenge me intellectually?

The Professional Introduction

As an educator, my impression of special education was mixed. When I became a teacher in the fall of 1982, special ed students were placed in my art class because they were required to take “regular education” classes. Art was considered a logical placement without the demands of “academic” courses. I experienced a variety of learning disabilities where some students seemed capable in the classroom and others needed more intensified support. The degree of student progress was significantly dependent on the quality of support provided by the special ed teacher.

While teaching high school, I also coached track. I had a very talented middle distant runner who had matriculated through self-contained classes his entire time in school. His high school special education teacher told me that he had the most profound processing disability she had ever encountered compounded by dyslexia. However, he was determined to graduate and go to college despite little experience in regular ed academic classes.

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We were able to recruit teachers willing to work with him because he was known as a hard worker.

Early in this student’s junior year we began to explore ways to achieve his goal. It turned out that he was not on track to get a diploma, only a certificate of participation due to his course load as mandated by the state. With the help of the principal, we got permission for him to take classes with oral exams to show mastery. We were able to recruit teachers willing to work with him because he was known as a hard worker. The combination of his teachers’ dedication and his determination got him to college where he completed his degree and ran cross-country and track.

The Dilemma

When I became an elementary school principal in 2007, there was a mandate for the practice of inclusion that was being promoted because of testing requirements from the federal NO Child Left Behind Act. In my district, we significantly reduced self-contained special ed classrooms and had special ed teachers follow students around as they attended classes. This resulted in groups of students attending the same classes so the teacher could serve them. There was little differentiation based on individual need. The state did not provide additional teachers so students with different deficits attended the same classes.

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Despite the ongoing struggle with special ed practices, the effectiveness

of inclusion is not settled science…

It did not take long for educators to see that the 2014 goal for all students at grade level and the 95% test participation rate, no matter the disability, was not possible. Despite the ongoing struggle with special ed practices, the effectiveness of inclusion is not settled science, yet states continue pushing the practice 22 years after NCLB (Top Scholar Says Evidence for Special Education Inclusion is Fundamentally Flawed; Jill Barshay, January 13, 2025, Hechingerreport.org).

It’s Not Resource Management But Human Investment

So, what is the answer when discovering learning struggles? Does my personal experience as a student mean we should simply provide the encouragement that a student can achieve? Do my encounters with students in self-contained classes show that this is the way to approach disabilities? Does the failed policy of inclusion mean we haven’t a clue?

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Today, the federal government only covers up to 18% of per pupil

special ed costs falling short of the 40% promised.

What we do know is that many students arrive at the schoolhouse door with special needs. These challenges require specialized professionals who help the children overcome intellectual or physical handicaps. When a learning disabilities act became the law as Education for All Handicapped Children in 1975 (sites.ed.gov/idea/IDEA History), Congress understood the need. Today, the federal government only covers up to 18% of per pupil special ed costs falling short of the 40% promised (The Promise of an Appropriate Education for Every Child with a Disability is Under Strain: Ashley White, 05/28/26, the hill.com.).

What this educator has learned is that where appropriate resources are applied, whether it be a dedicated teacher, parent, or school culture, students thrive. However, this cannot happen on a universal scale without providing exponential increases in teachers, special ed teachers, and resources. My mother and great teachers got me over the hump and my students succeeded when a determined learning community stepped up, but these are simply exceptions to the reality that exists with insufficient funds.

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It is the government and voting public that has failed to step up for our children.

As with all public school students, it is the government and voting public that has failed to step up for our children. To provide an acknowledged need it is critical that we prioritize funding for the free appropriate education required by law.

© 2026 Paul A. Bonner