Special Education Today newsletter 5(21)

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Here we go with another of the weekly newsletters from Special Education Today. This is volume 5, issue 21. This issue covers the week that began 17 November 2025 and it is 1503rd post on SET. That’s quite some stack!¹

As many of you may have already anticipated, you’re going to see a photo, updates on the status of SET, a list of posts for the week, and some comments.

Photo

Chris Lemons, Peggy Weiss, and Shanna Hirsch are editing a second edition of the text book that Barbara Bateman, Melody Tankersley, and I edited nearly 10 years, Enduring Issues in Special Education… (I’m not sure about the exact title of the newer edition). They invited Melody and me to write a foreword. Just this week, Chris wrote to Melody and me requesting photographs to use in the book. As I searched for something to send, I came across this one and was sorely tempted to send it and ask that they use it.

John Wills Lloyd with bunny ears by cj. Photo © 2025 by John Wills Lloyd, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

I have such a dislike of the formal “head shots” one so often sees when one finds photos of scholars. Still, I thought this might be a bridge too far, so I didn’t force my colleagues to have to request a different one. But, I can publish it here!

By the way, our daughter made the bunny ears. I’m so glad that she has such a sense of informality that she put them up behind me without my knowledge. It’s only one of the ways that she brings joy to my cold, hard, prickly heart.

Status update

You folks have been reading SET. Over the week covered by this newsletter, there were about 1000 reads per day. The majority of those reads come from the ~1350 followers of SET; about 1040 of those followers are subscribers and they are distributed across 54 countries and 45 US states. Yay! We may soon be able to consider ourselves an international community.

Welcome to Patty P., Tissy LC, Zach, Melisa P., Connie L., and Ashley M.. Thanks for subscribing. I got notices about three other new subscribers, but when I checked on the subscriptions, they were empty…no one there…hit-and-run…anonymous?

Thanks to everyone who has renewed her or his paid subscription recently. Y’all are the foundation on which SET rises. You’re right in there with the founding subscribers (Mike G., Li-Yu H., Anita A., and Kathy M.) and having with scores of others (Mike N., Mike C., Joel M., Dan H., Gerry W., Larry M., Candace S., Alix H., Jane N., Mary R., Jay, Ed. P., Bob P., Ed M., Pam S., Lucinda S.,Jen W., Jim P., Callie O., Christy A., Jean S., Vicki W., Vince C., Amanda H., Jim S., Riley M., Kristen M., Anna O., William R., and Clay K. ) who have paid subs. Thank you!

No shouts about comments this week. Maybe every one was too busy with real work?

Spedlettes

Here one can find links to the posts published during the week beginning 17 November 2025. Initials in brackets identify the authors.

1. Special Education Today newsletter 5(20): Does anyone care what transpired on SET over the last week? [JWL]

2. L. McMahon: Shutdown shows US ED won’t be missed: Does the existence of US federal oversight of education matter? [JWL]

3. R. Lavoie on circumstances: Why do we hear—and give—answers to questions? [JWL]

4. US heath agency reversed course on vaccinations and autism: Uh-oh...here we go again? [$$; JWL]

5. Suicide among youth with disabilities: Could knowing about the death of a young man with autism promote prevention? [JWL]

6. Update of “US health agency reversed course...”: Some of the goings-on going on? [$$; JWL]

7. Assessing qualities of political statements about disability: Is there value in the analyses of a policy group’s assessments? [JWL]

8. 1501th: Anyone want to go count the items in the archive? [JWL]

9. E. Hansford’s take on disbanding US ED’s research arm: Are we slaughtering the goose that delivered a golden egg? [JWL]

All but two of these posts are available to the public at this time. The newsletters will continue to be available for free, but the others will slip behind the paywall 10 days after they are published. Those that are already behind the paywall may make a brief cameo on the free side, so stay alert if your want to read them for free.

Tell you family, friends, colleagues, and others that, if they want to read posts for free, now’s the time. Of course, it would be delightful to have folks upgrade their subscriptions to paid, ‘cause paid subscribers always have access to every post.

Commentary

Here in the US, it is the week of Thanksgiving. In SET’s “pages” I have referred to Thanksgiving in previously. Here are are four that I found with a quick search: 13 December 2021; 28 November 2022; 29 November 2024; and 2 December 2024. Sometimes, it was just a mention, but sometimes there was a tad more substance.

This time, however, I want to provide more substance. I want to use the opportunity to express some of my own thanks. I want to thank the members of this community for all that they are doing to secure better educational services for children and youth with disabilities. Thanks to the folks who are doing their damndest-level-best to

• Provide family situations that sustain healthy growth and development;

• Deliver effective instructional services day-in and day-out;

• Modify environments so that our kids can learn academic and social competencies;

• Ensure that our kids have access to rightful opportunities to appropriate educational services in whatever physical environments are the places where our kids can receive those services most beneficially;

• Connect family members, educators, and others in service to coordinating enhanced outcomes for our kids;

• Study when, where, and how to provide our kids fruitful services;

• Promote and implementing laws, rules, regulations, and policies that enhance educational access and outcomes for our kids; and

• Agree that our kids are worth it.

Each and every person doing these things—and more—is advocating for kids with disabilities, even if that doesn’t feel like his or her main roll. or duty.

Among the readership of SET there are people who are doing these things. Some focus more on one or another of the listed activities. but all of you are pulling the sled for our kids. We are in this together. I am thankful you are doing that work.

Even if you live in a place or culture that celebrates good fortune differently than how it is celebrated in the US thanksgiving tradition, happy thanksgiving, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Please allow me to close with common admonitions or familiar recommendations. For your own sake, and because it probably would be good for our kids, please take care of yourselves and each other. I mean drive (walk, run, etc.) safely, wear seatbelts, exercise, sleep, and eat healthily (many of we US people will be feasting this coming week!). I hope that taking care of ourselves and our colleagues and neighbors will allow us to teach our children well.

JohnL
The Bunny-eared One

John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D., UVA Professor Emeritus,
Founder & Editor, Special Education Today

SET should not be confused with a product that uses the same name and is published by the Council for Exceptional Children. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades. Despite my appreciation for CEC, this product is not designed to promote that organization nor should the views expressed here be considered to represent the views or policies of that organization.

Footnote

1. For those Dear Readers who have been around since the late spring of 2021, thanks! I’m guessing that there are maybe 100 of y’all, and I am glad you’re still with us. At the time of my first thanksgiving message in the fall of 2021, there were ~300 of you. Any of you, whether you’re a long-term subscriber or a rookie, may review the 1(1) SET newsletter. You will be able to see that it’s been boring for all these years.