NEPC Review: 'Outmatched: Special Education Can't Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System' (Center on Reinventing Public Education, October 2025)
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| Title: | NEPC Review: 'Outmatched: Special Education Can't Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System' (Center on Reinventing Public Education, October 2025) |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Federico R. Waitoller, University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center (NEPC) |
| Source: | National Education Policy Center. 2026. |
| Availability: | National Education Policy Center. School of Education 249 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309. Tel: 303-735-5290; e-mail: nepc@colorado.edu; Web site: http://nepc.colorado.edu |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 13 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice |
| Document Type: | Reports - Evaluative Opinion Papers |
| Descriptors: | Special Education, Students with Disabilities, Educational Trends, Disability Identification, Educational Legislation, Equal Education, Federal Legislation, Achievement Gap, Educational Needs, Research Methodology, Misconceptions, Psychological Evaluation, Accountability, Educational Quality, Student Rights |
| Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: | Individuals with Disabilities Education Act |
| Abstract: | While special education in the U.S. has made significant achievements in terms of civil rights and educational equity, many critics have identified inequities in terms of labeling, segregation, and low academic expectations. A new report published by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) opens an initiative to restructure special education. It argues that increased special education identifications and persistent achievement gaps reflect the failure of a general education system built for uniformity rather than diversity. It concludes that, as a result of this uniformity, special education serves as a default mechanism for unmet instructional needs, and it calls for replacing the dual general/special education structure with a unified, needs-based system. The report, however, has several major weaknesses. Its rationale rests on broad claims about systemic design flaws, but it provides only limited descriptive statistics and selectively uses research literature. Moreover, while the report accurately identifies very real problems, such as reliance on psychological evaluations and inequitable access to services, it provides no empirical evidence linking these systemic features to rising identification rates or widening achievement gaps. Also, because it only selectively uses research, it overlooks decades of scholarship on identification, disproportionality, and system design, while failing to engage with counterarguments that defend special education as a necessary specialized system. The report's recommendations are bold but are not empirically grounded, leaving unanswered questions about legal protections, expertise, accountability, and instructional quality for students with disabilities. As such, this report provides little direct guidance for developing or revising policy in ways that would reliably safeguard the rights and learning needs of students with disabilities. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED681179 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED681179 Name: ERIC Full Text Category: fullText Text: Full Text from ERIC |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: NEPC Review: 'Outmatched: Special Education Can't Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System' (Center on Reinventing Public Education, October 2025) – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Federico+R%2E+Waitoller%22">Federico R. Waitoller</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22University+of+Colorado+at+Boulder%2C+National+Education+Policy+Center+%28NEPC%29%22">University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center (NEPC)</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22National+Education+Policy+Center%22"><i>National Education Policy Center</i></searchLink>. 2026. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: National Education Policy Center. School of Education 249 UCB University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309. Tel: 303-735-5290; e-mail: nepc@colorado.edu; Web site: http://nepc.colorado.edu – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: Y – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 13 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: SourceSuprt Label: Sponsoring Agency Group: SrcSuprt Data: Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Reports - Evaluative<br />Opinion Papers – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+Education%22">Special Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Students+with+Disabilities%22">Students with Disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Trends%22">Educational Trends</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Disability+Identification%22">Disability Identification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Legislation%22">Educational Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Equal+Education%22">Equal Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Federal+Legislation%22">Federal Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Achievement+Gap%22">Achievement Gap</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Needs%22">Educational Needs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+Methodology%22">Research Methodology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Misconceptions%22">Misconceptions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+Evaluation%22">Psychological Evaluation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Accountability%22">Accountability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Quality%22">Educational Quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Rights%22">Student Rights</searchLink> – Name: SubjectThesaurus Label: Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SU" term="%22Individuals+with+Disabilities+Education+Act%22">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: While special education in the U.S. has made significant achievements in terms of civil rights and educational equity, many critics have identified inequities in terms of labeling, segregation, and low academic expectations. A new report published by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) opens an initiative to restructure special education. It argues that increased special education identifications and persistent achievement gaps reflect the failure of a general education system built for uniformity rather than diversity. It concludes that, as a result of this uniformity, special education serves as a default mechanism for unmet instructional needs, and it calls for replacing the dual general/special education structure with a unified, needs-based system. The report, however, has several major weaknesses. Its rationale rests on broad claims about systemic design flaws, but it provides only limited descriptive statistics and selectively uses research literature. Moreover, while the report accurately identifies very real problems, such as reliance on psychological evaluations and inequitable access to services, it provides no empirical evidence linking these systemic features to rising identification rates or widening achievement gaps. Also, because it only selectively uses research, it overlooks decades of scholarship on identification, disproportionality, and system design, while failing to engage with counterarguments that defend special education as a necessary specialized system. The report's recommendations are bold but are not empirically grounded, leaving unanswered questions about legal protections, expertise, accountability, and instructional quality for students with disabilities. As such, this report provides little direct guidance for developing or revising policy in ways that would reliably safeguard the rights and learning needs of students with disabilities. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: As Provided – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2026 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: ED681179 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED681179 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 13 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Special Education Type: general – SubjectFull: Students with Disabilities Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Trends Type: general – SubjectFull: Disability Identification Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Legislation Type: general – SubjectFull: Equal Education Type: general – SubjectFull: Federal Legislation Type: general – SubjectFull: Achievement Gap Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Needs Type: general – SubjectFull: Research Methodology Type: general – SubjectFull: Misconceptions Type: general – SubjectFull: Psychological Evaluation Type: general – SubjectFull: Accountability Type: general – SubjectFull: Educational Quality Type: general – SubjectFull: Student Rights Type: general – SubjectFull: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: NEPC Review: 'Outmatched: Special Education Can't Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System' (Center on Reinventing Public Education, October 2025) Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: University of Colorado at Boulder, National Education Policy Center (NEPC) – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Federico R. Waitoller IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2026 Titles: – TitleFull: National Education Policy Center Type: main |
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