Landing Sites For Acceleration: Leveraging A Critical Special Education Lens As A Disruptive Tool For Urban School Leaders

This mixed methods case study utilized institution theory, along with liberatory consciousness and DisCrit, to examine the ableist and racist ideologies about Black students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) perpetuated by the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), particularly within a predominantly Black urban school district. Three principals from three schools in the district of focus were observed in their Academic Leadership meetings, participated in a life-mining interview process to help explore their personal experiences with special education and engaged in a professional development opportunity that presented them with a microaggressions toolkit. Transcripts and observation data were collected, and this data was then analyzed for themes, both inductively and deductively, utilizing member checks, thought partners, and ChatGPT for reflexivity and to try to mitigate personal bias. A quantitative analysis, utilizing an African-centered epistemology as a source of knowledge for reimagining the possibility of inclusion without the influence of white supremacy, revealed that. Recommendations include integrating discussions on ableism within anti-racist professional development sessions for educators within the focal district. School leaders should be trained to utilize the principles of the social model of disability as a framework for discourse on student achievement that scrutinizes the systemic structures that are disabling to Black students.