Mislabeled as Disabled: The Educational Abuse of Struggling Learners and How WE Can Fight It

by Kalman R. Hettleman

Overview

This book, described by reviewers as “shocking” and “a masterpiece,” exposes the tragic tale of the millions of schoolchildren who are never taught basic skills in reading, writing, and math. With heart-wrenching stories of individual children from his own experience as an advocate and ground-breaking policy researcher, Kalman “Buzzy” Hettleman documents what can only be labeled educational abuse. It may be unintentional, but it is gross negligence because we know how to prevent it, yet fail do it. Many of the victims are “Mislabeled as Disabled.” Denied proper instruction, they fall behind in regular general education, overwhelm teachers, and hold back classmates. Out of desperation, school systems unlawfully “dump” such "Mislabeled as Disabled" students in special education, even though they do not have a true medical disability. Yet, unlike students with severe limitations who are “Truly Disabled,” the special education they receive is hardly special at all. They fall farther behind and suffer stigma and segregation. Moreover, school systems cover up this educational malpractice with misleading progress reports and data. The fact that a disproportionate number of “Mislabeled as Disabled” students are from poor and minority families is no excuse. Hettleman not only cites in detail the better instruction that will enable them to succeed; he spells out the kind of legislative and judicial civil right to learn to read that is required for reform. Hettleman also perceptively reveals how teachers, like children, are victimized by educational abuse. Dedicated frontline teachers are denied the instructional tools—the training, class sizes, and curricula—with which they can get the job done right. He concludes with a call to action by all of us. Parents, educators, policymakers, and entire communities should read this book, become enraged, and then take up the struggle for reform.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635766400
Publisher:	Radius Book Group
Publication date:	03/14/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	963,923
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Kalman R. Hettleman is an acclaimed expert and author on special education and struggling learners. He has represented pro bono over 200 students and been instrumental in policy reforms at the local, state and national levels. In 2016-2018, he was a member of the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, charged by the governor and state legislature with recommending comprehensive, statewide K-12 school reform. He has also been Maryland cabinet secretary for social welfare programs, a university professor of social policy, a public interest attorney, Deputy Mayor of Baltimore, and manager of state and local political campaigns. He is the author of the acclaimed book It’s the Classroom, Stupid: A Plan to Save America’s Schoolchildren.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Preface xv

Part I The Indictment

1 A Preview of Coming Infractions 3

2 The Big Lie-How Struggling Learners Are Illegally Placed in Special Education 22

3 Underachievement and the Big Cover Up 41

Part II The Right Instruction at the Right Time

4 RTI to the Rescue of Struggling Learners 57

5 Special Education Is Not Special Enough 81

Part III Who's to Blame?

6 Show Teachers the Money 103

7 Mismanagement of Classroom Instruction 116

Part IV The Possibilities and Politics of Reform

8 The Folly of Reliance on State and Local Reform 141

9 A Civil Right to End the Wrongs and the Reinvention of Special Education 146

10 A Political Call to Action: Parents-Unite and Fight! 157

Notes 181

Index 207

Acknowledgments 217

About the Author 219

Editorial Reviews

"The author lays out a cogent case for making changes to the system [...] Hettleman offers a cleareyed assessment of the political realities reformers face. The concluding chapters deliver useful guidance for parents advocating for their own children and for activists working on broader education reform." - Kirkus Reviews "Hettleman, a Baltimore City school board member and national educational reform crusader, lays out the story like a well-structured crime novel [and] provides a road map for fixing a broken system [...] Written with clarity and a sense of urgency, the book is aimed at teachers, administrators, and legislators as well as at parents [...] Mislabeled as Disabled is a bracing call to arms [that challenges] the state of American education." - Foreword Clarion Reviews "[Author Hettleman's] tone may ruffle some feathers; he comes out with guns blazing in defense of victimized children. But his solution transcends partisan politics and clearly identifies steps to action in this convincing portrait of educational mismanagement. Lay readers as well as professionals will find his case compelling and enlightening." - BlueInk Reviews

From the Publisher

2019-03-21
A reformer argues for changes to the special education system.

In this policy book, Hettleman (It's the Classroom, Stupid, 2010) contends that the majority of students currently in special education programs are being shortchanged by a system that disregards the original intent of state and federal laws. The author asserts that they would be better served by "Response to Intervention," a framework that combines early diagnosis of learning impairments with short-term additional instruction to students who remain in a standard classroom. Drawing on both research and personal experience as an advocate for pupils while serving on the Baltimore school board, Hettleman makes an impassioned argument ("the purgatory of general education or the hell of special education") on behalf of the students he calls "Mainly Mislabeled"—to distinguish them from the "Truly Disabled." The latter have severe cognitive disabilities and benefit from traditional special education. In this volume, the author lays out a cogent case for making changes to the system. Empirical studies are blended with anecdotes from Hettleman's professional experience to present both a big picture view of the problem and specific instances of how the education system fails students, especially those at a socio-economic disadvantage. The author frequently reminds readers that his quarrel is with the educational establishment and bureaucracy, not with teachers as individuals. Some of his suggestions, like the elimination of local school boards ("The business of K-12 schooling is simply too complicated for very part-time volunteer policy-makers"), are fundamental challenges to the status quo. The book's solutions include expanded and updated teacher training, centralized systems for curriculum development and instructional methods, and learning plans that include specific measurable goals for all students. In addition, Hettleman offers a cleareyed assessment of the political realities reformers face. The concluding chapters deliver useful guidance for parents advocating for their own children and for activists working on broader education reform. An extensive notes section provides both citations and further discussion. The work's conversational tone and the author's evident enthusiasm for the subject make it an easy read for those not well versed in education policy.

An outside-the-box approach to meeting students' needs gets a worthy and forceful advocate.

Kirkus Reviews