Every Child Deserves a Special Education

Lay the foundation for inclusive, impactful classrooms where every student thrives

Every student deserves an education that is meaningful, memorable, and built for them. When we design learning with intentional, universal support, the impact extends beyond individual students—it transforms entire classrooms.

In Every Child Deserves a Special Education, the authors introduce five powerful mindframes that reshape the way we think about teaching, learning, and inclusion. These mindframes spark a cycle of reflection and growth, shifting not just what we do, but how we see our students, our classrooms, and our role as educators. Inside, you’ll find:

• Five essential educator mindframes—helping you plan for both diverse learners and the diversity within each learner
• Stories and examples that bring these mindframes to life through real classroom experiences
• Reflection tools to help you examine and refine your own beliefs and practices

True inclusion starts with how we think, not just what we do. Every Child Deserves a Special Education will help you build the mindset every classroom needs for all students to thrive.

Dr. Lee Ann Jung is the founder of Lead Inclusion and Professor of Practice at San Diego State University (SDSU). She is a former special education teacher, administrator, and full professor at the University of Kentucky, where she was director of international partnerships. She has authored ten books and numerous articles focused on inclusive education, assessment and grading, Universal Design for Learning, and multi-tiered systems of support. Over the past 25 years, Lee Ann has partnered with public, independent, and international schools across the United States and more than 45 countries, supporting leaders and educators to redesign service delivery models, strengthen MTSS implementation, and align practice with contemporary research. Lee Ann serves on the Advisory Committee for Exceptional Youth for the U.S. State Department′s Office of Overseas Schools. She has received competitive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for autism research and from the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for teacher preparation. She has chaired the Classroom Assessment Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and is Section Editor for Special Education in the Routledge Encyclopedia of Education. Lee Ann leads MTSS and inclusion audits, leadership support, professional learning, and long-term systems redesign. Through Lead Inclusion, she directs and teaches in the Leadership for Neurodiversity Program, a six-course online program in partnership with SDSU.  Lee Ann particularly enjoys the messy, meaningful work in the space between research and practice—helping schools move beyond fragmented special education initiatives toward coherent, sustainable systems that serve all learners. In her community, she is a member of Circle of Blue, a philanthropic organization supporting Golisano Children′s at the University of Kentucky. Lorraine Graham, PhD, is foundation professor of Learning Intervention at The University of Melbourne. Lorraine began her career as a primary (elementary) teacher. She has written eight books and has a track record of scholarship in the areas of inclusive education and intervention research. Over the last 30 years Lorraine has worked nationally and internationally with schools and school systems to support students with learning difficulties and deliver professional learning to teachers. In 2023, Lorraine was honoured for significant service to education, particularly in the field of inclusive learning. Nancy Frey is a professor in educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Her published titles include The Courage to Learn, The Art and Science of Coaching, How Scaffolding Works, and The Illustrated Guide to Visible Learning. Frey is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California and learns from teachers and students every day. Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Fisher was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design, as well as books such as Your Introduction to PLC+, Welcome to Teaching, How Feedback Works, Teaching Reading, and RIGOR Unveiled. Fisher loves being an educator and hopes to share that passion with others. John Hattie, PhD, is an award-winning education researcher and best-selling author with nearly thirty years of experience examining what works best in student learning and achievement. His research, better known as Visible Learning, is a culmination of nearly thirty years synthesizing more than 2,100 meta-analyses comprising more than one hundred thousand studies involving over 300 million students around the world. He has presented and keynoted in over three hundred international conferences and has received numerous recognitions for his contributions to education. His notable publications include Visible Learning, Visible Learning for Teachers, Visible Learning and the Science of How We Learn, Visible Learning for Mathematics, Grades K-12, and 10 Mindframes for Visible Learning.