For as long as I can remember I have had a strong sense of patriotism and have been fascinated with Washington DC.  My parents brought me and my brother to DC when I was thirteen years old.  To this day I can vividly remember seeing the Washington Monument from the car window and knowing that instant that I was going to make Washington DC my home.  That dream never changed.  I still have what is best described as a visceral response to Washington DC.  My love for DC has translated into an interest in policy and how it is created.  The focus placed on disability policy.

I have entered the world of policy making in several ways and my beliefs and experiences have been molded by my coursework.

Coordinator of the Assistive Technology Initiative

I have been responsible for the development of the Assistive Technology services on campus.  Through this endeavor I have had to set policy and procedures for the provision of these services.  I have experienced first hand how economic, logistical and political factors influence the ability to deliver services in some ways parallel to the lessons learned in EDUC 873. In a world without these influences, every computer station would be entirely accessible and everyone would have the best computer available.  However, on a college campus, space is like gold and the assignment of space political as much as it is logistical. Support ultimately comes from vision and inspiration. 

I have learned that support for a project is best accomplished through inspiring others and looking for creative ways to secure resources.I found additional financial support for the ATI by applying for a FIPSE Grant with Utah State University, titled WebAIM. George Mason's participation in this grant provided seed money to the university to begin the effort of making web site accessible to people with disabilities. It also provided recognition to project and the university by acting as a model for other universities.

I appreciate this addition of web accessibility to the ATI more since taking EDUC 871 which has been called the horizontal and vertical policy class.  The idea that effective policies cannot be islands, they need to interconnect with one another to allow people comparable services as they move through life. This understanding has helped me in my continued planning in the ATI. For example, it is not enough to offer accessible stations on campus. We also need to create accessible online resources. EDUC 871 has heightened my awareness of how disability related policies often do not interconnect. One area that is of particular interest is the transition from K-12 to Higher Education and work. I expressed my thoughts on this in a paper titled: Disability Law: Eligibility and Service Inconsistencies, the Vertical Challenge. In this class I also explored the inconsistencies in assessment procedures for individuals with disabilities across policies at the same level. The horizontal challenge. In a paper focusing on the provisions outlined in NCLB & IDEA.

Internship at Washington Partners

The internship was by far the most intense and rewarding experience I have had in policy.  Working with Jane West was a thrill for me. Advocating for the inclusion of students with disabilities in the No Child Left Behind Act, was something I was not sure I could be passionate about. Before beginning the internship, I had made up my mind about the law. In EDUC 844 Current Issues in Special Education, I wrote a paper essentially pointing out some of its flaws, titled: From Access to Accountability: Issues in Special Education Policy. To my surprise I began to appreciate the need to include students with disabilities in the accountability measures of the law.  Through researching how states were implementing the law, I began to see how facts can be distorted to allow states to avoid reporting students with special needs. Through my participation in meetings with Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities  and many other groups I began to see issues from both sides of the fence. Looking back, I wish I had the benefit of EDUC 872. It would have helped me to decipher and look more critically at the research.

I left the internship with the belief that excluding people with disabilities from accountability measures is discriminatory.  I also believe that increased expectations for students with disabilities will ultimately improve their educational experience. Surprised by my new view of NCLB, I began to wonder how people make decisions related to policy. I became interested in how, as a researcher, I could explore this issue. In EDRS 810 I presented my ideas as a proposal for a qualitative research method section project titled:The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Influences that Effect Change in Special Education Policy

This exploration continued in EDRS 812 where I interviewed parents of children with disabilities to gain their perspectives of NCLB. The paper is titled: Opinions about No Child Left Behind: Formed through Fact or Bias?

Testimony to the Education and Workforce Committee

Through the connections I made during the internship at Washington Partners, I was asked to offer my personal perspective at a Hearing on No Child Left Behind and students with disabilities. My testimony expresses my strong belief that NCLB is raising expectations students with disabilities and through the use of assistive technology and better, more universally designed assessments, educators can provide a better experience for students with disabilities.

I have felt conflicted about my opinions of NCLB. However, after reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire in EDUC 873. I better understand how I can both strongly support the law in regard to serving students with disabilities, while having serious concerns about its overall effectiveness as an educational policy. I express my beliefs in a paper titled: Freire and Special Education: A Reflection.