INITIATIVE

Organizing Schools to Serve Students with Disabilities

initiative image

In the year following the publication of Getting Down to Facts II, PACE heard from stakeholders in Sacramento, California and across the state that more knowledge on how to better serve students with disabilities was needed to guide policy and practice. The absence of practical knowledge on systems to support special education juxtaposed with the urgency that decisionmakers were placing on designing new special education policy made it well-suited as a topic of a PACE Policy Research Panel. On August 13, 2019, PACE hosted a meeting of key actors in special education policy, practice, and research (see below) to reimagine how students with disabilities are served in California and to identify the knowledge needs to make that vision a reality for all students. While discussions of special education in California often focus on issues of special education finance, the emphasis of the PACE Policy Research Panel on Special Education was to clarify the type of system we seek to build to serve all students—including students with disabilities.  The full set of publications were released on February 18, 2020, with a webinars on February 27, March 5, and March 10 to share findings. 

Recent Initiative Publications
Policy Brief Myung Feb 2020
A Summary of the PACE Policy Research Panel
Over 725,000 California K-12 students received special education services in 2018-19, but the system is not always equipped to serve them. Early screening, identification, and intervention, as well as better transitions, educator support, and mental…
Policy Brief Gee February 2020
Characteristics, Outcomes, and Transitions
The CORE districts studied characteristics, outcomes, and transitions of students with disabilities (SWDs). Specific learning disability was the most common type. Males, African Americans, English learners, and foster youth were overrepresented.…
Policy Brief Hunt Feb 2020
Only 10% of eligible infants and toddlers with developmental delays nationwide receive early intervention services, and CA serves fewer children than the national average. This is due to challenges such as spotty screening, tenuous linkages to…
Policy Brief Kasari Feb 2020
California is failing to identify and serve infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with developmental disabilities compared to national averages. The transition from infant/toddler services to preschool services is hindered by various factors such as…
Policy Research Panel Members