Read: Special Ed Edition

What’s happening in the dropout nation:

1. There are children such as this child in this photo (a sufferer from Shaken Baby disorder and blind) who need special education. But why is it that at least ten percent of black, white and Latino boys are routinely labeled as learning disabled and often landing in special ed? Especially when the nature of their “learning disability” is likely specious at best? I lay out the scope of the special ed crisis today in The American Spectator.
   
2. By the way, let’s be real: Special ed, along with alternative schools, is the black hole of public education. It is also the black hole  for the school reform movement; it isn’t as sexy to talk about as charters or vouchers or as dry and yet seemingly meaningful as national standards. The inaction by both traditional public school supporters and many school reformers speaks volumes about what they really think about improving education for every child. Badly.
3. The most-disappointing state competiting for Race to the Top funding? The dubious distinction goes to Maryland, according to Andy Smarick. But Texas — once a leading pioneer in school reform — may end up ranking a close second.
4. Kevin Carey analyzes the NAEP urban math results and notes how far down Detroit has gone.
5. Why the New York City Department of Education remains the gold standard for school reform: A willingness to shut down failing schools such as this one in Harlem, according to the New York Times (via EducationNews).
6. Like stopped clocks, Heather Mac Donald gets one right every now and then. This time, it’s on the decades-old move by California to make full immersion in English the standard for bilingual education.

The Read

These lockers should be filled by the kids who have dropped out. Let's find a way to bring them back.

What is happening inside — and outside — the dropout nation. Updated throughout the day (new stories and updates marked by *):

• The revolving door: Some 1,352 freshmen in California’s San Bernardino school district dropped out of school at least once, according to WestEd in a study that included the district. Yet a third of those students returned to school at least once — even though a mere 77 of them would ever gain a diploma. Why? WestEd told the Press-Enterprise that the reasons were myriad. Some just returned in order to meet a condition of probation while others tried to avoid getting a General Educational Development certificate, which has less value for job seekers. And some wanted to bolster their chances of getting a job. One wonders what solutions can be extended to these returning dropouts so they can finally stay in school and get true diplomas.
• Race and a poorly-run school district: Houston’s North Forest school district is a mess. It’s high schools is rated as one of the worst in the Lone Star State; charges of test cheating has haunted its other high school (now shuttered) were alleged int the pages of the Dallas Morning News last year. Its special education program has been accused of misconduct by parents, according to another news investigation. And it’s insolvent. So what happens when state education officials move to remove the school board? The board members hires a civil rights attorney to keep them ensconced in their seats. And, of course, being a majority-black school district run by an all-black board, the board members and their friends in the state legislature (along with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee) are claiming the board is being removed due to racism. Fail children and then claim bigotry? How nice.
• More Broader, Bolder: Kevin Carey wishes that the anti-No Child Left Behind group — which includes dropout crisis skeptic Lawrence Mishel of the NEA-funded Economic Policy Institute — would actually explain their positions and why they hold them. Alexander Russo gets a response from Mishel to some questions about the position of Broader, Bolder on testing.