Parents of students with IEPs share a common vision of an ideal school that is safe, supportive, academically strong, and inclusive with needed supports¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2028: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? All parents in the sample envisioned a school that was safe and supportive, with a strong academic environment providing needed supports and services within an inclusive climate. → Cowhy 2023

Evidence¶

Cowhy 2023¶

Cowhy, J.R., Gordon, M.F., & de la Torre, M. (2023). Forced to choose: Lessons learned from families of students within special education. Educational Policy. https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048231198814

q2 · i? · qualitative · r1

Qualitative interview study of 29 parents of students with IEPs after the 2013 Chicago school closures. The findings section reports that "All parents in our sample had visions for what an ideal learning environment would look like for their child" centering safety, academics, and inclusion.

"All parents in our sample had visions for what an ideal learning environment would look like for their child: a school that was safe and supportive, with a strong academic environment which provided their children with the supports and services they needed within an inclusive climate."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• A school's ability to implement a child's IEP was the first factor in parents' enrollment decisions, crowding out other school characteristics — related
• Many parents of students with IEPs lacked viable options to engage in school choice after forced school closings — related
• Youth with an IEP are more likely than youth without an IEP to struggle academically, yet less likely to receive some forms of school-based support — related
• Parents' school choices were constrained by disability-linked safety fears and transportation barriers — related
• Building a strong learning climate by supporting and guiding teacher collaboration around common goals is highlighted as a key finding — related
• For many families, academic quality meant factors different from the district's performance policy rating, such as after-school programs, class sizes, and school environment — related
• Quality of staff-student and staff-parent relationships most strongly defines safe schools, with disadvantaged high-relationship schools feeling safer than advantaged low-relationship schools — related