PDE launches Disability Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program

By Aren Framil, Co-News Editor

On April 4, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced the creation of the Disability Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program, a grant program which will provide schools with up to $30,000 in funding toward the implementation of disability inclusive curriculum.

While the PDE added the curriculum program itself to the Pennsylvania school code in 2022, it announced the grant system in 2023. To be eligible for the program, the PDE required schools to submit applications by May 15. In a Sept. 2021 statement by Jason Ortitay and Joseph Hohenstein, the Pennsylvania State Representatives who proposed the program, they wrote that its purpose is to “demonstrate the profound, positive impact that disabled individuals have had on our society and work to create a more tolerant and inclusive world.”

Disability Equality Education, the organization that advocated for the program, states on its website that disability inclusive curriculum involves teaching students of all abilities about disability through a social, rather than solely medical, lens, as well as learning about the contributions of disabled individuals in all subjects.

This includes education about disabled historical figures, such as Harriet Tubman, disability rights movements and diverse representation of disabled individuals in “all aspects of school,” according to DEE’s website. Alan Holdsworth, director of DEE and longtime disability activist, believes the discussion of disability in K-12 curriculum to be a step toward greater equality.

“What the (disability inclusive) curriculum is aiming to do is change the way that disabled people are perceived,” Holdsworth said. “The whole idea of having conversations in the classroom is that we’re creating a generation of young people who’ve had 12 years of these conversations (about disability), creating better understanding of disability and then probably a better world.”

DEE’s website provides resources, such as lesson plans, that teachers can use to implement disability inclusive education in their classrooms. According to Holdsworth, DEE also worked with schools to pilot and design lesson plans centering on disability.

“We did a Champions program in Philadelphia last year with about 15 different schools. (The teachers) actually taught the (disability inclusive) lessons and tried to measure the impact,” Holdsworth said. “We (talked) at the beginning of the program with the young people who were involved about designing and evaluating (the lessons), and the results were really great.”

Through initiatives such as the Disability Curriculum Pilot Program, the DEE hopes to create a more inclusive environment for disabled individuals. It states on its website,“Through bringing disability into education we believe that our next generation can grow up without the prejudice that ignorance can create. Reducing stigma and bullying thereby creating educational environments for all.”

Aren Framil can be reached at [email protected].