These goals are precursors to the values and priorities espoused by leaders of the influential education reform movement, which focus on helping children compete in a technological world. Policy is a word that conjures images of important others making decisions that will influence the course of history. Policy makers are believed t manipulate issues they know only in the abstract. But policy is also affected by the actions of tcachers, family members, and others involved in the everyday process of inclusion. With respect to educational policy for children with disabilities, every time a decision is made to test a child, to label and sort a child as belonging in this or that category, or to place a child in this classroom rather than that classroom, a policy is interpreted and enacted.
Educators are de facto policy makers every day.
In this report, we seek to demystify the vagaries and complexities that surround education policy, and at the same time, remove the rose-colored glasses through which advocates of inclusion sometimes portray inclusive education services. This report is based on themes initially identified in Washington State and supported by data from other study sites. It is part of more comprehensive research conducted by the Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion. The research and products generated by this institute, as with most education research institutes, are likely to reach primarily academic audiences. The Social-Political Landscape of Education All the names of people, programs, and localities have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved.