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It critiques the CRPE report for limited data, selective research use, and recommendations that lack empirical grounding, leaving key questions on protections, expertise, accountability, and instructional quality.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/nepc-review-outmatched-special-education-cant-solve-problems-rooted-in-the-education-delivery-system-academic-review/586327/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/nepc-review-outmatched-special-education-cant-solve-problems-rooted-in-the-education-delivery-system-academic-review/586327.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Quinn Holloway","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-05","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What argument does the CRPE report make about special education?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"It claims that increased identifications and persistent achievement gaps stem from a general education system built for uniformity rather than diversity, and that special education becomes a default response to unmet instructional needs. It calls for replacing the dual general/special structure with a unified, needs-based system.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What weaknesses does the NEPC review identify in the CRPE report?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The review says the report relies on broad claims with limited descriptive statistics and selectively uses research literature. It also faults the lack of empirical evidence connecting systemic features to identification rates and achievement gaps.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why does the review say the report’s recommendations are hard to translate into policy?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The review concludes that the recommendations are bold but not empirically grounded, leaving unanswered questions about legal protections, expertise, accountability, and instructional quality for students with disabilities.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},586327,1792189441,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466712,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","NEPC Review: Outmatched: Special Education Can’t Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System (Center on Reinventing Public Education, October 2025)  \nReviewed by:  \nFederico R. Waitoller University of Illinois Chicago  \nJanuary 2026  \nNational Education Policy Center  \nSchool of Education University of Colorado Boulder [nepc.colorado.edu](nepc.colorado.edu)  \nAcknowledgements  \nNEPC Staff  \nFaith Boninger  \nPublications Manager  \nPaul Thomas Academic Editor  \nElaine Duggan Production Design  \nAlex Molnar NEPC Director  \nKevin Welner NEPC Director  \nSuggested Citation: Waitoller, F.R. (2026) . NEPC Review: Outmatched: Special education can’t solve problems rooted in the education delivery system. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved [date] from [https://nepc.colorado.edu/review/outmatched](https://nepc.colorado.edu/review/outmatched)  \nFunding: This review was made possible in part by funding from the Great Lakes Center for Educational Research and Practice.  \nGREAT LAKES CENTER  \nFor Education Research & Practice  \nThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License.  \nThis publication is provided free of cost to NEPC’s readers, who may make non-commercial use of it as long as NEPC and its author(s) are credited as the source. For inquiries about commercial use, please [contact NEPC at](contact NEPC at nepc@colorado.edu)[ nepc@colorado.edu](contact NEPC at nepc@colorado.edu).  \nThe National Education Policy Center (NEPC), a university research center housed at the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education, sponsors research, produces policy briefs, and publishes expert third-party reviews of think tank reports. NEPC publications are written in accessible language and are intended for a broad audience that includes academic experts, policymakers, the media, and the general public. Our mission is to provide high-quality information in support of democratic deliberation about education policy. We are guided by the belief that the democratic governance of public education is strengthened when policies are based on sound evidence and support a multiracial society that is inclusive, kind, and just. Visit us at: [http://nepc.colorado.edu](http://nepc.colorado.edu)  \n[http://nepc.colorado.edu/review/outmatched](http://nepc.colorado.edu/review/outmatched) 2 of 13  \nNEPC Review: Outmatched: Special Education Can’t Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System (Center on Reinventing Public Education, October 2025)  \nReviewed by:  \nFederico R. Waitoller  \nUniversity of Illinois Chicago  \nJanuary 2026  \nSummary  \nWhile special education in the U.S. has made significant achievements in terms of civil rights and educational equity, many critics have identified inequities in terms of labeling, segregation, and low academic expectations. A new report published by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) opens an initiative to restructure special education. It argues that increased special education identifications and persistent achievement gaps reflect the failure of a general education system built for uniformity rather than diversity. It concludes that, as a result of this uniformity, special education serves as a default mechanism for unmet instructional needs, and it calls for replacing the dual general/special education structure with a unified, needs-based system. The report, however, has several major weaknesses. Its rationale rests on broad claims about systemic design flaws, but it provides only limited descriptive statistics and selectively uses research literature. Moreover, while the report accurately identifies very real problems, such as reliance on psychological evaluations and inequitable access to services, it provides no empirical evidence linking these systemic features to rising identification rates or widening achievement gaps. Also, because it only selectively uses research, it overlooks decades of schola","cbCaimvjvIRSJgkc","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimvjvIRSJgkc","pdf",976938,13,"English","# Summary\n# Introduction\n## Historical legal foundations for access to public education\n## Equity criticisms of the special education system","[{\"question\":\"What argument does the CRPE report make about special education?\",\"answer\":\"It claims that increased identifications and persistent achievement gaps stem from a general education system built for uniformity rather than diversity, and that special education becomes a default response to unmet instructional needs. It calls for replacing the dual general/special structure with a unified, needs-based system.\"},{\"question\":\"What weaknesses does the NEPC review identify in the CRPE report?\",\"answer\":\"The review says the report relies on broad claims with limited descriptive statistics and selectively uses research literature. It also faults the lack of empirical evidence connecting systemic features to identification rates and achievement gaps.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the review say the report’s recommendations are hard to translate into policy?\",\"answer\":\"The review concludes that the recommendations are bold but not empirically grounded, leaving unanswered questions about legal protections, expertise, accountability, and instructional quality for students with disabilities.\"}]","NEPC Review: Outmatched: Special Education Can’t Solve Problems Rooted in the Education Delivery System - academic review | PDF",1792057597,33]