The Role of Special Education Interest Groups in National Policy
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The Role of Special Education Interest Groups in National Policy ...

Chapter 1:  Introduction
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Court, with the coding scheme theoretically grounded in the broader interest group literature. The theoretical patterns from the document data are quantitatively tested, and triangulated with elite interviews conducted with members of Congress and their staff, interest group leaders, and staff at the U.S. Department of Education. The combined data from document sources and elite interviews allow a unique analysis of interest group behavior over time, the groups’ evolution, and an examination of the groups’ effectiveness both quantitatively and qualitatively, in their interactions with policy makers. Although some parts of the research are exploratory, the multiple methods provide a systematic analysis of groups involved in special education policy-making, which other scholars have examined in case studies of single events.

The research focuses on these questions:

  • What types of groups participate in special education on an interest group–social movement continuum?
  • What is the relationship between group types and the way in which they frame policy interests?
  • How do the groups negotiate differences among themselves and with policy makers?
  • What is the relationship among the groups’ choice of targets and strategies, and their organizational characteristics, how they frame their policy interests, and arenas of action?
  • What is the relationship among a group’s effectiveness in the legislative and judicial arenas, and the group’s organizational characteristics and the kinds of issue positions they take?

    • The next section outlines the components of the explanatory model and summarizes key findings.

    Explanatory Model Components

    Organizational Characteristics. Groups that represent both parents and professionals lobby on Capitol Hill and file amicus briefs. I analyze the