Word Up welcomes Hunter professor Catherine Kramarczuk Voulgarides to discuss her two books, Beyond Compliance: Reclaiming Agency in Special Education and Does Compliance Matter in Special Education?: Idea and the Hidden Inequities of Practice (Disability), which examine how special education policy in the United States both protects students’ rights and, at times, reproduces deep inequities—and what it will take to move beyond compliance toward equity. Drawing on two complementary and newly released books, the author will explore how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a powerful and necessary law, while also critically examining how its structure and implementation in K–12 schools can be strengthened.

“Today, uncovering ‘us’ is fraught. The US, state by state and collectively, struggles to remember whose voices belong. Schools shape what belonging means. Voulgarides reminds us that we achieve an inclusive society by pushing to create emancipatory learning spaces that allow our children to thrive in today’s and tomorrow’s worlds.” ~Elizabeth B. Kozleski, retired professor of education, Stanford University

Please register in advance.