In 1973, Frances Stetson was the Special Education teacher at Casis Elementary in Austin ISD. She was a rookie.
Fast forward 50 years, and Dr. Stetson is now a renowned expert in special education, a field that has seen what she describes as “monumental changes.”
Flashback: “Back then, in Texas, many, many children were left at home —so my classroom for children who were blind was segregated with no services or support or interacting [with other people on campus]. We really had a marked segregation of children with disabilities, [but] I was just happy to be in the same campus with other teachers and students!”
How do you paint the picture of a 50-year evolution? With three broad strokes.
The first represents changes that took place in 1975. A new federal law began to protect the educational rights of children and youth with disabilities, and their families.
“The first evolution was wonderful, wonderful,” Stetson says. “It came with incredible promises and guarantees - ‘Yes! You have a right to education in the least restrictive environment.’ But students were still being segregated.”
The second broad stroke happened in the 1990s.
The original 1975 law was reauthorized by Congress as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA. It became a smarter and more ambitious law that gave children with disabilities the opportunity to learn side by side with their peers—with the same curriculum and the same standards. Before, there were none.
“We had puzzle time and cooking time.”
The last broad stroke brings us to this century.
Children of different abilities often share the same learning environments. We are seeing societal changes, an evolution of acceptance - the notion that all children are children and all students are students. Instead of labels, we are slowly shifting to a more embracing place that accepts diversity.
But, a 50-year history in three broad strokes is messy.
It could be refined, perfected.
But, how?
That, in our next installment of our year-long look at Special Education.
Joy Díaz
