Anyone that has been following the blog at all the past couple months will know that Jim Gerl, of the Special Education Law Blog, and I have had a bit of personal quest to get something out of the candidates on special education policy (Jim more so than me - and it was his idea to start). So far ... not much luck.
But, alas, our long quest may be about to come to an end. Sarah Palin is expected to give a policy speech on special needs children tomorrow. In fact, it will be her first and only (to date) policy speech whatsoever. Who knew special education issues carried such import!
Of course, I am going to be watching this closely. I have been critical (as have others) of Gov. Palin and Sen. McCain for using a child's disability as a political ploy. So, I have high expectations for this policy address. Since they are billing it as a policy address, I am expecting real policies. Real ideas. Real improvements. Just something real, period. Here's hoping Jim and I will finally be able to rest easy tomorrow night knowing that at least someone has decided to talk seriously about this issue.
Update: Well, just watched the speech and I am going to give it a B. First, only MSNBC (surprise) carried the whole speech. Even Fox News cut her off and CNN didn't even carry it to begin with. She gave the speech in a small auditorium, but the sounds of children were clearly evident, which I think is nice.
Here are some policy ideas: The big idea was choice (vouchers, I assume) for special needs parents. Parents could be given a voucher and then choose where to spend that voucher, either public or private. Another idea was to strengthen NIH for "cures." Also, she advocated for "administrative clarification" and finally she said that IDEA will be fully funded under a McCain-Palin administration.
I am not going to evaluate the policy proposals, but clearly the choice/voucher idea makes little sense to me. Of course, she didn't say how it would actually work, so it is hard to judge. The fully funding proposal certainly is a statement that will resonate with special education advocates and, if it is implemented, would actually help the states.
But, besides the policy proposals, which probably deserve about a C-, she deserves some credit for being empathitic. I think there is genuine identification with special needs parents and recognition of some of the critical issues. She said that schools are doing the best they can, but that parents know that it is just not good enough for their kids. And, I think that shows at least some degree of a higher level of policy critique. This is not a issue where there is a clear bad guy and she seems to recognize that.
Additionally, I am going to give her a lot of credit for doing it. Yes, there was some pressure as the major media outlets criticized the Republican ticket for a lack of specifics and using Trig Palin as a political ploy, but less than two weeks out there are a lot of bigger issues that can score more political points. She has chosen to use one of the few remaining days in this election to devote to special needs issues. Let's not kid ourselves, Sarah Palin's time in the spotlight is about over. The chances of McCain winning this election are about nill. So, I think there is at least some degree of honor in Gov. Palin's choice to highlight special education issues with her dwindling campaign megaphone.
So, a B. The policy proposals were not great, but the speech serves to highlight special education at least to some degree ... and I think that benefits special education and special needs students.