“We need to reach the point at which every child is treated as if he or she were our own child, with the same tirelessly defended and protected life possibilities. In schools where we can predict the racial makeup of a special education class before we open the door, we must have leadership, if possible, and enforcement, if necessary, to ensure that each child receives the quality academic support and special services he or she truly needs without diminishing any of the opportunities that are any child’s right in American society.”
Editors Daniel J. Losen and Gary Orfield, in the introduction to Racial Inequity in Special Education, which was published in late September by the newly established Harvard Education Press and the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University. The 336-page collection presents the project’s research findings and recommendations in this area and includes a foreword written by Sen. James M. Jeffords of Vermont.
