US elections “concluded” 3 November 2026. I used scare quotes on “concluded” because the results of some particular contests are still undecided. However, the general or overall trend of the results is clear: The US voters supported candidates who rejected many policies and practices of the US government over the past 10 years, especially the past two years. The analysts, pundits, talking heads, and other experts have lots of opinions about why the voters voted the way they did—war, economy, overreach, meanness, etc. Putting those opinions aside (at least for the moment), it is clear that there will be a change in the direction of the US government.
A lot of lawmakers’ attention (ahem) in determining this new direction will focus on. economic, foreign, farm, energy, and other policy aspects of US society. I hope that educational policies do not get lost in the shuffle. There is a lot of work to do!
There is a lot of work to do for our kids and folks.
We cannot go backwards. It is not a good idea to return to the policies and practices of the 2000-2010s (and earlier). There are some good features in the days or yore, but we need to go farther (as Reid Lyon noted 4 November 2026 noted). We do not need to go back. We need to go forward.
The damage done to the US special education infrastructure is great. How will the Department of Education recover from the slash-and-burn destruction of the staff in the Office of Special Education, the National Center for Special Education Research, and other agencies?
Let’s just imagine that new US lawmakers reinstate the functions of these offices. Who will have the institutional knowledge and skills to make things work? Who the hell is going to make those functions function? Will the folks who knew how to make this work and who were fired in 2024 come back?
Our path has been toward greater inclusiveness, and we should not abandon that road. We should pave the road with top quality macadam, making sure that children, youths, and adults who grow up in our world do not have limited opportunities. They deserve a smooth and gently sloped path, and we should work to make it so.
In my view, the special education path toward greater inclusion goes through evidence-based services. It does not depend on greater understanding of poverty. It does not meander through lovely gardens with flowering psychologies. We may admire the findings from neuroscience, sociology, and such, but those findings do not tell us how to change behaviors that are problematic for our kids.
As we work in the new political environment, we peeps who give a damn about kids with disabilities need to Think Big. We have to be very careful to keep the overall picture on our screens. It can become easy to focus on one specific part of that picture (ADHD, dyslexia, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome, gut-microbiota, gene-42-zy-12rf).1 Doing so will fractionate our overall effort.
We need to lobby our new lawmakers to
Sustain the basic foundation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Fund it like it was planned in the beginning (40% , or better)!
Ensure that parents’ voices are welcomed and authoritative;
Make sure that IEPs are central, sensible, simple, and implemented;
Keep the basic structures of child-find, non-discriminatory assessment, and collaboration with general education intact
Identify and remove barriers for individuals with disabilities, especially including in the areas of
Work
Housing
Recreation
Much of what I have written here refers to civil rights. Individuals with disabilities should not be denied work, access, services, opportunities, or other privileges of citizenship simply because they have disabilities.2 We need to implore our governmental leaders3 of the next few years to preserve, protect, and appropriately expand the rights of individuals with disabilities.
I hasten to add, though, that there is a special education underpinning or base to this article. Here it is: Our kids not only deserve physical access, they should also have learning access.
Kids with disabilities must get the very best instruction educators can provide.
Our kids do not deserve “business as usual” nor the latest fad teaching.4 They deserve the most effective instruction available. That is, the instruction (whether it is for personal hygiene, spelling, or financial investment) that has been regularly shown to be most likely to lead to competence, mastery, and independence.
Those of us who give a damn about individuals with disabilities need to convince the incoming lawmakers that our peeps must not be overlooked, that looking down on individuals with disabilities is a political mistake, and that advancing the civil rights of individuals with disabilities is a natural progression of democracy.
What on Earth are we going to do?
Footnote
Okay, I made up that last one. As far as I know gene-42-zy-12rf is not real, not something associated with disability.
To be sure, for example, it would take a very highly accomplished blind individual to qualify as a commercial airline pilot. But, it should not take that individual any special dispensation to buy a house.
US and elsewhere. Let’s not let the government leaders in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, or any other geo-political areas to slip on this!
What’s the pop thing right now? “Brain-based?” “Neurodivergent?” “Science of reading?”
I’ve recently been coaching parents to advocate for appropriate education as opposed to best. Only students with disabilities have a right to FAPE. I’ve been wondering what kind of education does everyone else have a right to.
Perhaps rebuilding a special education department is an opportunity to do it better at a foundational level vs bandaging or fighting the system.
OCR complaints were backlogged after the first trump administration. I don’t know if they were ever current. I bet they’re backlogged now. Likely other departments too.
I’m curious to see what happens. Thanks for keeping me informed. 😁