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

Chapter 2

Conceptual Framework

Understanding what special education organizations are about, what they do, how they go about doing it, and their effectiveness over time necessitates the integration of various theoretical and empirical perspectives. This chapter is organized around discussions of the organization types, problem definition, policy target and strategy selection, and effectiveness. Although policy-making is not a linear path, moving neatly from choosing an institutional target, to constituent mobilization, to policy outcomes (Martin, 1994; Sinclair, 1997), I have chosen to organize this chapter in this manner for the sake of clarity. Each section ends with a specific research question.

Interest Groups and Social Movement Organizations

Special education, as defined under IDEA, includes a wealth of organizations. For example, there are hundreds of disability advocacy organizations listed on the Web. Some special education organizations testify before congressional committees, or submit amicus curiae briefs, and