(Re)Imagining Inclusion for Children of Color with Disabilities

A transformative vision to shift educator practice and make systemic changes that can advance educational inclusion of students of color with disabilities

In (Re)Imagining Inclusion for Children of Color with Disabilities, Soyoung Park argues that the disproportionate segregation and isolation of children of color with disabilities from their nondisabled peers is the product of an educational system which upholds a racist, ableist agenda. Park puts forth a visionary call to end these exclusionary practices through shifting educators’ mindsets to view children of color with disabilities not as problems to be fixed but as individuals who are capable and worthy of learning in the least restrictive environment--the inclusion classroom.

The book gives an incisive historical and sociopolitical overview of special education practices in US schools. Park shows how the process of referral, identification, and placement of students with individualized education plans is based on culturally biased assessment tools and rooted in racism and ableism. Enacting long-lasting, sustainable reform, she argues, requires systemic change.

Informed by DisCrit theory, this book draws from a decade of research in inclusion classrooms in California, Texas, and New York. Park eschews the medical model of disability, instead offering pedagogical and solidarity practices that view students through an asset-based lens. She showcases these practices at work in real-life classrooms, where teachers respond with respect not restriction, make room for the unexpected, center inquiry, recognize the gifts of resistance, and center relationships. The book concludes with practical recommendations for teachers, and proposes changes to teacher education and disciplinary procedures for policymakers and school administrators who seek to aid transformation.

Soyoung Park is director of online programs in Early Childhood and Childhood Special Education at the Bank Street College Graduate School of Education. She has worked in the field of special education in a variety of roles, including teacher, interventionist, coach, researcher, and teacher educator. Her work specifically aims to advance justice for children of color with disabilities, their families, and their teachers.