Recent global events have brought tremendous challenges and incredible opportunities to re-envision the work around equity, diversity and inclusion to rethink our practice and to re-commit ourselves to one of the tenement goals in the Special Education office:  to ensure that children with disabilities have the supports they need to learn in the least restrictive environment.  

As Special Education leaders in the Bronx, we know that the data shows an historical overrepresentation of Black and Brown boys in Special Ed and that those boys are often placed in some of the most restrictive (small class) settings.  What we realized upon returning to office in 2021, is that what was needed and what was missing was a critical dialogue: both internally as an office and with multiple stake holders at every stage of the Special Education process from referral to eligibility to placement.  

In our panel discussion, we will share our experience as the leadership team serving at the Committee on Special Education (CSE 2 in the Bronx) and our journey on implement various micro-shifts.  Our vision was to both respond to the impact of trauma and think about the overidentification for special education as a structural trauma that warrants further investigation.  This shift in culture at the central office level, and trauma-informed thinking has been transformative not only for staff, but most importantly, it is evidenced in the data.  The micro-shifts discussed have had a dramatic impact in increasing the number of preschool special education students in the least restrictive environment for the 2022-2023 school year.