Shaheen Study Group Looks at Special Education

STUDY GROUP l Standing beside a long wooden table as students filed into her weekly study group on the challenges facing public schools, former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen watched as Marika Steir typed on a portable computer called a Dynavox. Steir, a tenth-grader from Shaheen’s state, had meningitis as a baby. She uses a wheelchair. Speech is difficult. The Dynavox, pre-programmed with phrases, “speaks’’ for her.

As governor, Shaheen, a current IOP fellow, was a strong advocate for increasing special education funding. Steir and her parents came to Harvard to share their experience pushing for her to be in “regular” classes.

“Our biggest struggle as she grew up was convincing people that she wasn’t so special,” said Linda Steir, Marika’s mother. “Yes, she learns differently. She walks differently. But I fully expect her to go to college and move out some day. I don’t know how I could see that for her future if she spent her early years in segregated settings.”

In 1975, a federal law passed that began the process of inclusion in public schools. The study group debated the pros and cons of the legislation.

The Institute of Politics offers informal, non-credit, study groups on a range of public policy topics, led by practitioners, including resident fellows like Shaheen.