Federal Leadership Perspectives on the Early Years of Special Education

Overview & Synopsis

This article is part of a case study of federal leadership in special education from the perspective of those who served in the roles of assistant secretaries of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) and directors of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), or their equivalents in the former U.S. Office of Education and later U.S. Department of Education. The perspectives cover the time period since the passage of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 to amendments of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1997 and the end of the Clinton administration in 2001. The participants detailed their (a) career and appointment, (b) vision for educating students with disabilities, (c) theory of change, (d) politics and financial constraints, (e) advocacy, and (f) views of the past, present, and future.