America must invest in its special education system

Education is important, and it should be guaranteed to all children. Yet there’s a number of kids out there being denied education, and it’s because they have special needs.

One school district here in Irvine, California appears to be so intent on denying that a child is dyslexic that they’ve spent more than $1 million in legal fees to avoid paying about $40,000 a year for the girl to attend a special private school that can educate her. While that does not seem like a wise investment of funds, the reality here is that schools are forced to take up these high-stakes legal fights against special education disputes because, if they acquiesced, the cost would be astronomical. Ultimately, the only answer is to ensure that our schools are equipped to teach the growing number of neurodivergent minds.

The number of students with differences in learning is growing. It’s not because there’s a trend on social media, or there are people encouraging others to identify as something other than neurotypical. It’s because our society is finally realizing that people learn differently, they think differently. Not everything operates on a binary scale, and people are refusing to be forced to fit into a lazy, dichotomous system.

Nationally, 8.4 million students from the ages of 3 to 21 are classified as needing special education. That’s about 17% of all public school students. And that number is growing. In the 2021-22 school year, nearly 46,500 formal complaints or mediation requests on Special Education Assistance were filed nationwide, that’s according to federal data. And that is up 27% from the prior year, which was what, during the pandemic, many people likely realized during that time that their child is not necessarily neurotypical, or that they finally maybe had time to advocate for their child’s needs.

Regardless, our system needs to be corrected so that it can accommodate those needs. Not everyone learns the same way. California Governor Gavin Newsom is dyslexic. If it’s not in a particular font, he’s going to struggle to read it. I’m an artist, I think differently, and I need changes in stimuli. There are many of us out there with considerable amounts of talent. That cannot be harnessed, however, if we’re abandoned by the education system.

Each child should have an opportunity to learn, and it’s implausible to say that a group that’s nearly 20% of the public school learning demographic is so small that they should seek help elsewhere. No, they, we, are not an anomaly, but among the masses. The public school system should be equipped to ensure they can meet all students’ learning needs.

Sure, you may say, well, money is necessary to do that. And I say yeah, and there’s plenty of money. The vast majority of police budgets, for instance, in major cities, have increased far more than education budgets. Let’s change that to serve the high-demand service needs of neurodivergent students.

At present, on a national scale, special ed teachers often face incredibly challenging working conditions. They have large caseloads, limited resources, burdensome paperwork obligations. This brings high turnover and also welcomes unqualified instructors. But if we invest in these educators by paying livable and appropriate wages, we can help ensure that these candidates are well supported, and we can bolster their potential and thus support these students. The end result will be fewer legal fees and greater results.

There is an increasing demand for educators who can serve the needs of students who think differently and learn differently. Our local, state and national bodies should be doing the same when it comes to funding and ensuring schools can meet those students’ needs. We need different takes, outlooks, find the resources, because neurodivergence isn’t an anomaly. [Sic] it’s what a simply once-overlooked norm, and we have to be prepared for it. We have to be ready to educate those with it.