Advocating for Inclusive Education: Strategies and Successes with Julie Causton ~ 703

News Anchor: Tonight, the King 5 investigators show us the incredible change that can happen to a child with disabilities with one simple adjustment in their education—giving them a seat in the classroom with other kids in school.

Tim Villegas: Tell me if you’ve heard this one before—a student with Down syndrome or autism is educated for the vast majority of their day in a segregated special education classroom.

In 2018, King 5 News in Washington State conducted an investigation which they called Back of the Class. The series exposed the reasons why Washington State lags behind much of the country in serving students with disabilities. Here’s Susannah Frame from King 5 News.

News Anchor: Many kids with disabilities in Washington spend a majority of their day separated from the typical learners in school, even though state and federal law states they have the civil right to be included as much as possible. So check out the changes for one student when his new school said, “Yes, you have a seat in the class.”

The new experience for Sam began this school year on day one of high school as a freshman at Decatur in Federal Way. For the first time in three years, school administrators allowed him to learn alongside his non-disabled peers—like in this music class. He also took general education pottery, a leadership class, and gardening.

Educator: Garden? Did you make that?

News Anchor: Yeah. Where fellow students helped Sam with projects like this one, then signed their names and words of encouragement.

Educator: Big hug. There we go.

News Anchor: And now we’re—

Educator: Starting to see that the old Sam kind of re-emerge and be more confident and silly and social. It’s such a blessing to see that again, because by the third year of middle school, we were feeling pretty despondent about things.

News Anchor: For three years at Taffet’s Aholi Middle School, Sam spent every day, all day, in a segregated classroom. Even at lunch, he sat separately. None of the other kids even knew his name.

Educator: It breaks my heart that there are kids in his school who may not understand—who don’t understand what Down syndrome is.

News Anchor: Last year, Sam’s mom, Sandy, described those isolating middle school years where the family watched him become withdrawn, not wanting to go to school, and not making much academic progress.

Educator: And I think it’s just wrong on so many levels—not just for Sam, but for the other kids in the school. It’s an opportunity lost. We can’t get these three years back.

News Anchor: Like Sam, thousands of children in Washington State are shut out of regular classrooms. Our investigation found only 54 percent of our kids with disabilities spend a majority of their day in general ed. And for students with intellectual disabilities like Down syndrome and autism, that number’s down to five percent. Only two states in the country—Nevada and Illinois—have a number worse than that.

Educator: Outcomes for kids with disabilities are not better when they’re in segregated classrooms.

News Anchor: Dr. Eileen Schwartz is a special education expert at the University of Washington. And what the research tells—

Educator: Us is that children with disabilities do better when they’re in inclusive classrooms, and children without disabilities do as well.

News Anchor: School records show Sam did do better—with noticeable improvements in math, reading, and social skills.

Educator: What we’re seeing now in just the first year of high school shows so much promise, and I think it can only go up from here.

News Anchor: This video taken in middle school last year shows just how much Sam was left out—attending his first ever school dance. While Sam was surrounded by kids, he was actually alone. No one spoke to him.

Educator: No one came and said, “Hi, Sam.” No one danced with him. No one took a selfie with him. He was aware. He was aware that there were no kids around him.

News Anchor: Compare that to this year’s high school band concert, where Sam, alongside general education musicians, opens up the show. Listen to what happens at the end of the song. It’s the sound of inclusion—of kids knowing a fellow student who happens to have—

Educator: They were fully, fully 110 percent supporting him with what he was doing up there in that performance. And he knew that. You could see it on his face. I got really choked up and thought, “This is amazing. This is for Sam.”

News Anchor: It—

Educator: Was just really amazing to see them recognize Sam that way.

News Anchor: I don’t know if you could tell, but the kids were yelling, “Sam! Sam!” And it’s such a great moment. And the parents absolutely loved it. We’re so glad they got it on videotape.

As for the Federal School District, they wouldn’t tell us why Sam was completely segregated his entire middle school career or why now he’s able to participate in general education classes. And they also wouldn’t let us inside Decatur High School.

Tim Villegas: What Sam’s family, teachers, and classmates realized when he was included with his typical peers was that he was more than capable of learning, growing, and making an impact in the classroom. What is tragic about this situation is that it took a news investigation for Sam’s family to get any traction to have Sam be included.

Today on the podcast, we interviewed Dr. Julie Causton, a former professor at Syracuse University who has devoted her career and research to giving families practical strategies to include their children with disabilities in general education classrooms with their typically developing peers. Julie shares with us six strategies that you can use immediately to advocate for inclusive education for your child or student.

My name is Tim Villegas. After a short break, our interview with Dr. Julie Causton. Also, a special thanks to Susanna Frame from King 5 News in Washington State for giving us permission to rebroadcast this story.

Julie Causton: Hi, this is Julie Causton and you are listening to Think Inclusive Podcast.

Tim Villegas: Julie, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the field of inclusive education?

Julie Causton: I guess I’ll start backwards. I used to be an educator, a special education teacher, and I taught elementary, middle, and high school at different times. I was always working with a caseload of students—mostly students with the most significant disabilities. I always worked with students in inclusive settings, so even if they were in separate settings, I would figure out how to get them included.

I became an inclusion facilitator for a district, then got my master’s and doctorate in special education because I was fascinated—probably more like on fire—about the concept of inclusion and realizing that we’ve got a lot of work to do in that particular area.

Then I taught at Syracuse University for 14 years, and there I ran the program for elementary folks. They were all teachers getting dual licensure in special and general education. Now I run Inclusive Schooling, a company I started with my friend Kate McLeod, who is a doctoral student and now a professor. The two of us work together in schools all over the country and Canada—and now the world. We’ve been doing a lot of international work.

We help schools become inclusive. That looks like lots of different things, but often we do equity audits in schools to see who has access and who doesn’t. Then we do a lot of professional development to help schools restructure. That’s the majority of my work.

Tim Villegas: In order for inclusive schools to become a reality, do you see this teacher credentialing where there’s dual licensure as the future of education?

Julie Causton: I do. I feel like the line between general and special education has been, for too long, made like cement—concrete lines. Meaning, “I’ve got this licensure and you’ve got that licensure,” and “I teach these kinds of kids and you teach those kinds of kids.” All of us in education know very well that those lines are blurry and that all learners have strengths, gifts, and talents.

You’re jumping to the future of special education, and my dream would be that those lines wouldn’t exist. Everyone would understand that we are all diverse learners needing different things—some of us needing more support for sure. But it would be an absolute convergence of the two ideas of both general and special education.

Tim Villegas: What do you think it would take to get movement on dual licensure for all teachers?

Julie Causton: It’ll take all the stakeholders—parents, administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, all school personnel—everybody to come to that realization. Here’s the problem, Tim, as you know: we’re really stuck in this system. We believe in this system. We believe it to be true—that if a student has an IEP, they’re so unique as a learner that me, with only a general ed licensure, could never teach this kid, or vice versa.

There’s a paradigm shift that’s going to be needed. I’m not really sure who needs to make those shifts, but I’m not really sure how to get folks to understand that special education is really good general education. Special education is access to general education. When we stop thinking about it as a place and start thinking about it as portable services, we can do a lot to create a more equitable system.

Tim Villegas: What are some practical strategies for families who have children with Down syndrome, autism, or an intellectual disability and are not in an inclusive school system right now—but want their child to be included in a classroom with their typical peers?

Julie Causton: Great question. I work with a lot of families who are in that particular situation, and they are in varying levels and spaces and places in that journey.

I can give some pointers. I would start with having a clear vision—making sure you are really clear on what you want. Make sure your vision is crystal clear: “This is what we want, this is why.” Have it in writing and share it at your child’s IEPs.

As parents know, the IEP process is the place where they have the most power at that table—even if it doesn’t feel like it. That’s the place where you can state the things that you want to state.

Start with a really clear vision. Involve your student in that vision. I work with lots of families who put together a little video or a handout to say, “These are my dreams.” I’m thinking of a student I was recently working with who has Down syndrome and really wants to attend college. Although we’re thinking about a third-grade IEP, it’s really important for the team to understand this is where we’re headed. That helps us make decisions about the kinds of classes and supports the student needs.

I have an online class for parents called Inspire Inclusion. On there, I give a template I call a manifesto. But you could do it any way you want. Here’s an example:

“Our ultimate vision for Andrea is that she is educated alongside her general education peers for the entire school day. We want her to be included in every aspect of schooling. This means she is with her peers for lunch, recess, and special area classes—but more importantly, with them in all academic subjects with appropriate support. We want her support services to be brought directly to her and delivered seamlessly in her general education class. We view Andrea as an important member of her school. Therefore, we want her to be engaged as an integral part of the classroom and her school community at every turn.”

Andrea has Down syndrome. That manifesto helped guide the process. It wasn’t the school’s vision of what was possible for Andrea—it was the family’s vision of what they wanted.

Julie Causton: The second thing is really learning what’s happening currently—making sure that you have a really good sense of what the day looks like. Too often, what’s written on paper does not resemble what happens in real life. I think it’s really important to learn exactly what’s happening with your child’s placement now.

The third big idea is to work with the team. This is really, really interesting because I work with families that have varying connections to their team. Sometimes, they’re almost not speaking, and in other times, they’re really closely connected and working together kind of flawlessly. My goal for families is that they stay as collaborative as possible for as long as possible so they can get their students what they need. I also give that same advice to educators and professionals.

Tim Villegas: Fantastic. What would be your next big idea?

Julie Causton: After that, I would move on to knowing the law—getting really clear with what your legal rights are. The things I would bulk up on are understanding what “least restrictive environment” means and states. Also, understanding what the Ronker Portability Test is. The Ronker Portability Test is a test that suggests if a service is portable, it should be brought to the student instead of bringing the student to the service. That’s a really important piece of the law.

Then, knowing all the case law around inclusive education—whether it’s Oberti or others. Actually, there’s an article that I’ve written called “Achieving Inclusion: What Every Parent Should Know.” I’ve got a whole chart in the back about all the different laws and litigation that you should know and be familiar with. So, like Brown v. Board of Education, PARC v. Pennsylvania, Roncker v. Walter (which is the Ronker Portability Test), Daniel R.R., Sacramento Unified, and Raphael Oberti—those are the ones that I kind of know what they are about. That way, when you’re advocating for your child to be included, you kind of know where to point in terms of which pieces of the law might be in question.

The next step would be to plan an inclusive IEP. Obviously, the discussions are all happening at the table, so you want to make sure that you stay focused on placement when you get to that time. What I mean by that is, obviously, there are going to be places where you might give a little here or there, but for me, placement is the decision that I feel is worth going to the mat for. We well know that when students are put in a segregated setting or space, they remain in that segregated setting or space—just statistically speaking. We want to make sure that’s the point where families say, “Nope, I really want my child to stay in general education.”

Then I’ve got lots of ideas for writing inclusive-oriented goals—making sure that the goals that are written actually involve general education peers. Educators, by default, really write goals that happen in general education. They write lesson plans that happen in general education. For example, a student writes words that are legible to a peer, or a student is able to use language that is discernible by a peer. As you can see, by putting the peer in that goal, we’re asking that it be carried out in a general ed setting.

Tim Villegas: So you have seen that as an effective way to hold school teams accountable for taking data in general education settings?

Julie Causton: Yes, I have. And there’s another place, too, that I think is really useful, which is the present level of educational performance. Recording there things like “the student does best with peer models,” or “strong language models,” or “strong behavioral models”—those kinds of things. Because if it’s documented there, again, you’re starting to make a case to say, “Wait, if the student does best with strong behavioral peers, then we should make sure that the student is placed with strong behavioral peers.”

Tim Villegas: Have you heard of families who advocate for their children’s curriculum not to be modified as a strategy to keep students in general education and not in a separate, self-contained special education classroom?

Julie Causton: Yeah, that’s a really tricky thing. So let’s back up and remember what special ed is for. Special education is designed to provide adaptations and supports so students can have access to general ed. Some families have been told, usually, that if they put “modified curriculum,” their child will be somewhere else to get that modified curriculum. Sometimes that word is very tricky because people don’t want to put that on an IEP because they worry that it will happen somewhere else.

There are some states—I just worked in South Carolina—where this was an actual issue. However, if that’s the issue, meaning if it’s likely that the student’s placement will change based on that word “modification,” then I suggest writing “adaptation” in instead. That usually doesn’t mean the same sort of change in the curriculum itself—there’s not a significant change to the curriculum itself.

So yes, I’ve seen people do that. And it kind of breaks my heart because I don’t want people to not get the supports they need in general ed. You should be able to legally receive the differentiated supports that are needed—whether it’s modifications, accommodations, or adaptations. We want to make sure that families have—

Tim Villegas: Right, because the need for modifications, adaptations, or accommodations, according to law, they don’t drive placement. I believe IEP goals and objectives drive placement.

Julie Causton: That’s right. And so many states are actually using the word “modifications” to say, “If modifications are on an IEP, we’re going to change placement for that child.” So I think—South Carolina, for example—someone really needs to challenge that legally, because the practice is: if a child requires a modification, then that can happen in a different setting. They’re really linking that. So if you’re a South Carolina lawyer, I’m really interested in looking at this piece because in practice, it’s clearly being linked, and I know that that goes against the spirit of IDEA.

Tim Villegas: Julie, do you have any other strategies for parents who are advocating for their children to be included in general education?

Julie Causton: Yeah. My sixth and last strategy is: really celebrate successes with the team. Don’t forget that being an educator—and Tim, you could speak to this—can feel like you’re under scrutiny, both public and private. It can be an exhausting job, and educators are doing their very best 99.9 percent of the time.

So don’t forget to celebrate with your team every time something really goes well. Just jot a note down and say, “Hey, thank you for that,” or “Gosh, I appreciate this communication notebook,” or “I noticed and appreciated this,” or “Boy, I love that modified science work,” or whatever. Because as parents, we’re also exhausted, and we forget to say those positive things. Instead, too often, we’re just talking about what’s not working, what’s not happening for my child, etc. So celebrate those successes—that would be my last big idea for families.

Tim Villegas: Those are fantastic suggestions. Thank you, Julie. What do you think is the most significant barrier to inclusion for students with disabilities?

Julie Causton: I think there are many, but I would say a huge barrier is just how hard change is in school—and the fear of change. Literally, what I’m talking about is a pretty big paradigm shift: moving away from this idea that kids with disabilities are so different and need a separate place, to “humans are humans,” and all students need support in all kinds of ways.

That paradigm shift is a change. And if you even think back to when we went to school—schools don’t look that different. Schools are averse to change. Compare technology to education: technology changes at lightning speed, and yet you still walk into a classroom that looks very familiar to most of us from 40 years ago. There’s a teacher at the front, everybody’s at desks—it’s not different.

So I think our biggest barrier to inclusion is how schooling struggles to change for a variety of reasons. The other thing I think is fear of difference and the medicalization of disability. We’ve been told, we’ve been taught, we’ve believed that children with disabilities need to be in separate spaces. And that’s a convenient thing to think, because those students then are someone else’s problem—someone else’s challenge.

That fear of difference and the medicalization of disability has been used as an excuse to keep students separate. I always—and I probably said this to you last time we talked, Tim—I always talk about Brown v. Board of Education. Because when anyone asks me, “Why isn’t it different?” I say, “Well, I don’t know. Why in 1954 were we saying it’s okay to keep students separate—Black and white kids separate?” It’s the exact same thinking. And unfortunately, it reveals a pretty unattractive truth about the way we think about people with disabilities.

Tim Villegas: Well, this has been a fascinating and enlightening conversation with you, Julie. Where can people go to find out more about you and Inclusive Schooling?

Julie Causton: Yeah. You can go to my website: www.inclusiveschooling.com. There you can find many things. You can find articles that you can just print and use and share. People love to get articles just for gifts, if you didn’t know this.

You can also find all my books there. The Educator’s Handbook would be really important for your listeners who are educators. The Paraprofessional Handbook is excellent for your paraprofessionals, etc. And there’s a co-teaching book that I think you’re going to love called 30 Days for the Co-Taught Classroom. Those would be the highlights there.

Other than that, I want you to know that there’s a bunch of online courses that people are taking. Sometimes districts are having their entire school use the online courses, and that has been really incredible. And the last thing is, if you want me to come to your school or district, you can just contact me on the website and we can talk.

Tim Villegas: Awesome. Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your time and your knowledge with us on the Think Inclusive Podcast.

Julie Causton: Yeah, no problem, Tim. Talk to you soon.

Tim Villegas: If you would like to hear the entire unedited recording of my interview with Dr. Julie Causton, consider becoming a Patreon subscriber at patreon.com/thinkinclusivepodcast.

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On that note, thank you to Patrons Donna L., Kathleen T., and Veronica E. for their continued support of the podcast.

Also, a special shout-out to my producer and love of my life, Brianna. Happy birthday, darling. You are truly magical.

Thanks to my boys—you know who you are—for your feedback and suggestions. It’s always greatly appreciated.

Next time on the Think Inclusive Podcast:

Mike McHargue: I don’t want autistic people to be siloed from the rest of the world. I don’t want them to be isolated. But to me, that means the way forward is not creating increasingly insular communities and sidelining people on the spectrum or any intersection of identity, but instead all of us working together to create a society where we’re better at understanding and dealing with all the different ways people happen and people are.

Tim Villegas: Thanks for your time and attention. See you next time. This has been a production of Think Inclusive, LLC.