Willing, able and forgotten

Up to 90 percent of students with disabilities are capable of graduating high school fully prepared to tackle college or a career if they receive proper support along the way. Only 65 percent graduate on time. Those who do cross the finish line often aren’t ready for the next step. See all our Special Reports

Peter O'Halloran checks supplies at his job. O'Halloran works full-time at a nonprofit in Philadelphia.

The ‘forgotten’ part of special education that could lead to better outcomes for students

Many former special education students struggle to find good-paying jobs, and high schools are partly to blame

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Jackie Mader  – December 16, 2017

Marjorie Guldan has been advocating for years for her daughter Rebecca, 14, who has an intellectual disability, to receive a more challenging education than the one she gets in her school system.

For students with disabilities, quality of education can depend on zip code

The law says these students deserve to learn. In some districts, parents say that's not happening.

High School Reform

by Rebecca Klein  – December 9, 2017

Julie and Matthew high-five during a home-school lesson.

These students are finishing high school, but their degrees don’t help them go to college

For students with disabilities, completing high school does not always lead to greater opportunity.

High School Reform

by  Rebecca Klein  – December 2, 2017

Mississippi

The largely poor and rural state of Mississippi suffers from the highest rate of childhood poverty in the country, along with some of the lowest scores on standardized tests. A legacy of racism and segregation are among the roadblocks that keep the children of Mississippi from reaching their full potential.
Kenyatta Burn works with her tutor at the Durham Literacy Center on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2017, in Durham, N.C.

Special education’s hidden racial gap

Across the country, black and Latino children with special needs are far less likely to graduate than their white peers

High School Reform

by  Emmanuel Felton  – November 25, 2017

A special education student at South Hills High School takes an online quiz about RNA. The district’s reforms to special education have included making sure students use the same textbooks as their general education peers.

How one district solved its special education dropout problem

Efforts to remove the stigma for students with disabilities have paid off

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  – November 18, 2017

STUDENT VOICE: How one college student found success by “leaning in” to dyslexia

The coping strategies that work

Willing, able and forgotten

by  Marren Blakely  – November 14, 2017

Mark Nelson poses for a photo at Citrus College in Glendora, California.

Low academic expectations and poor support for special education students are ‘hurting their future’

Being challenged yet supported in class proves elusive for many students with disabilities

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Jackie Mader  – November 11, 2017

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Adam Salomon at his high school graduation. Salomon’s mother, Karen, says he was not prepared for life after high school.

The vast majority of students with disabilities don’t get a college degree

How better soft skills might boost low college persistence and employment rates

High School Reform

by  Jackie Mader  and  Sarah Butrymowicz  – November 11, 2017

Michael McLaughlin and his mother, Michelle, at Michael’s 2013 graduation. Michelle McLaughlin said Michael’s education did not prepare him for college or career.

Almost all students with disabilities are capable of graduating on time. Here’s why they’re not.

U.S. education system is failing students with special needs.

High School Reform

by  Sarah Butrymowicz  and  Jackie Mader  – November 4, 2017