Civic Equity for Students with Disabilities
by Leah Bueso
Civic education scholars routinely posit that schools should prepare all students to be informed and effective participants in democratic life. To do otherwise would mean allowing “some votes and voices [to] count more or less than others” (Gould et al., 2011, p.18), which contradicts the very ideals on which democracy is founded. And yet, in the pursuit of equal opportunity, the field of civic education has largely ignored a significant segment of the school population: students with disabilities (SWD). Indeed, in 2002, when Sherrod and colleagues laid the groundwork for conceptualizing citizenship development inclusive of diverse youth, there was no mention of SWD. Even more current civic education research that acknowledges disability as one example of diversity still fails to consider what full inclusion for these students might look like (see Levinson, 2012a).
Of course, this disregard for the civic education of SWD will come as no surprise to disability studies scholars. According to Taylor (2020), the dominant philosophical models of civic education require “a particular level and display of intellectual ability, communicative competence, social independence, and behaviour” (p. 53) that do not make room for undesirable differences and thus construct SWD, especially those with intellectual disabilities, as incapable of citizenship. What these models fail to recognize, however, is that displays of ability and intelligence depend on several factors, including the subjectivity of the assessment/assessor, agendas of power or control, and access to education and the opportunities that result from it (Erevelles, 2002; Hehir, 2002; Kliewer et al., 2015; Wolbring, 2012). The problem, then, lies not with SWD, but with our inadequate understanding of student capabilities and the restrictive notions of citizenship advanced by many civic education scholars.
If we do not take seriously the need to study the civic education of SWD, what judgments are we making about whose votes and voices matter in democratic society? History has taught us that, in most cases, the rights of marginalized groups are not adequately protected by those in power when group members are excluded from civic and political participation (Dahl, 2006). Indeed, it was not until the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was passed that individuals with disabilities were legally protected from discrimination in employment, government, and public sectors. But by then, historical patterns of segregation and exclusion had already resulted in lower education levels, limited voter registration and turnout, higher unemployment rates, and increased social isolation that made it more difficult for individuals with disabilities to generate civic and political capital (Schur et al., 2003). By extension, the exclusion of SWD from civic education research only exacerbates their disenfranchisement and disengagement.