When it comes to preparing special education professionals for the unique circumstances they'll face in the classroom, the University of Kansas School of Education and Human Sciences has distinguished itself as the gold standard.
As U.S. News & World Report's No. 1 Department of Special Education (among public universities), the KU School of Education and Human Sciences has a long history of civil rights advocacy as well as classroom success and has been at the forefront of special education since before and after the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was passed.
"The department has been engaged in a civil rights and social justice agenda on behalf of children with disabilities and their families," explains Elizabeth Kozleski, professor and chair of KU's Department of Special Education. "It's been here from the beginning, and it's producing research every year that helps further that agenda."
Video Transcript
I'm Elizabeth Kozleski and I'm the chair of the Department of Special Education here at the University of Kansas.
The University of Kansas has been at the forefront of special education since before 94-142 was passed and signed into law by Gerald Ford in 1975. Before and since then, the department has been engaged in a civil rights and social justice agenda on behalf of children with disabilities and their families.
When 94-142 was first signed into law, we didn't have a lot of the personnel that we needed to make that happen. So in their wisdom, the federal government and the legislature included in 94-142 that provision to prepare people to be in every school to do this work.
And Kansas has been at the forefront of understanding the needs of children with disabilities and making sure that what they understood was transformed into use-based technologies and materials and collaborative interactions with general educators across the country to deliver high quality services. So it's been here from the beginning and it's producing research every year that helps further that agenda.