Almost a year ago, Valerie Williams, the Director of the U.S. Office of Special Education, sent a letter to Michael Rice, the Superintendent of the Michigan Department of Education.
The purpose of Williams’ letter was to get an update about the status of the U.S. Department of Education’s findings and corrections ordered following her office’s procedural checkup of Michigan’s special education programming.
The federal department found that the state was underserving its special education in several ways, including a lack of financial oversights, not providing proper inclusive learning environments for some children with disabilities, and mediation policies and procedures that were inconsistent with state and federal guidelines.
“We appreciate your efforts to ensure compliance and improve results for children with disabilities,” Williams wrote in her letter.
This letter came eight years after a statewide taskforce recommended reforms across the board for students in the state with disabilities.
Within the past week, the Autism Alliance of Michigan announced the release of their Special Education Experience (SEE) Survey Report, which shows the disparities and barriers students with disabilities and their parents experience while navigating Michigan’s education system.
“Michigan’s public education system is meant to provide a pathway for all students, including those with disabilities. Our report shows that, in many cases, this is not happening in the way it should,” said Heather Eckner, Director of Statewide Education at AAoM. “The families who completed this survey deserve to be heard. Our report highlights the frustrations and even trauma they’ve experienced as part of their efforts to acquire, or help their children acquire, fundamental skills through public education.”
As the first survey since the Michigan Special Education Reform Task Force issued recommendations for changes and improvements to the special education system in 2015, the SEE survey shows there has been no improvements in key areas over the past nine years.
Many of the same issues from William’s report are present in the responses from the SEE survey. The report identified the top concerns for students with disabilities and their families, which include:
- School funding and resources are not adequate and equitable.
- The special education workforce shortage is affecting students.
- Students with disabilities are not spending enough time with nondisabled peers in the least restrictive environments.
- Schools are not identifying disabilities early enough, preventing students from becoming eligible for special education services as early as possible.
- Schools are not engaging sufficiently with parents and their students.
These issues becoming increasingly more alarming when dealing with Black students, who are historically and systematically overlooked and underserved.
Black students with disabilities are disproportionately suspended from school, as more than 1 in 4 Black boys with disabilities and nearly 1 in 5 Black girls with disabilities receive an out-of-school suspension.
Additionally, just 57% of Black students with disabilities in Michigan graduate high school, compared to 74.6% of Black students without disabilities.
“Our report shows the need for better education policies, instructional practices, and other system-wide changes,” said Colleen Allen, Ph.D., President and CEO of AAoM. “These findings reinforce the importance of preparing students for independent living while addressing systemic barriers to ensure accessible, high quality and inclusive education.”
Through its findings, AAoM says it hopes to inform policymakers and school officials while driving change to increase opportunities and improve outcomes for students with disabilities across the state.
“The survey is a snapshot of the collective voice of our core constituents, which are families,” Eckner said. “We want to share these insights to promote increased opportunities and improved outcomes for kids with disabilities across the state.”
With almost 900 responses from families and students about their experience within the special education system, the survey results align with AAoM priorities: to drive systemic change in Michigan’s education system by elevating lived experiences, identifying barriers, and amplifying the voices of parents and students with disabilities.
“We hope that the Michigan Department of Education and state legislature will consider these findings and be open to increased partnership so that we can work together to improve outcomes for the state’s disability community,” Eckner said.
By the Numbers
- 51% of parents of K-12 students with disabilities responded that their child’s disabilities should have been identified sooner.
- 28% of parents of K-12 students with disabilities said their child does not spend enough time with nondisabled peers.
- 15% of parents of K-12 students with disabilities said their child spends NO time with nondisabled peers.
- 41% of parents of K-12 students with disabilities wanted to be more involved in the development of their child’s individualized education program.
- 51% of parents of K-12 students with disabilities disagreed that the school has the proper resources to support their child’s needs, with 21% saying they “strongly disagree.”
The hope is that Michigan’s top educators will make the necessary changes to the systems that are failing the state’s most vulnerable populations.
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