I do not as a Special Education teacher consider myself a joke. I won’t argue with you as I see no reason to try to convince you of such a strongly held belief nor subject myself to being called a joke.
The application of the intent of ADA can be a real bad joke. But, not all spec-ed teachers, there are some great ones. My best friend, especially. She was great at teaching needs kids until she was stabbed in the face with a pen, just missing her eye. She is now a principal, and her teachers push a panic button when they are attacked or a kid needs restraining and she dispatches someone to do the job.
Your area, Raleigh, just opened the first charter school in NC that focuses on young people with intellectual, social or developmental disabilities. That’s an interesting concept- the opposite of inclusion.
Wake County & NC may be doing a much better job than some other places. But many families in other states have not been pleased with special education for decades.
I’ve seen lots- inexperienced SLD teachers, teachers that are unqualified to teach or help specific types of kids, and the biggest issue- the lack of availability of the SLD teachers. One teacher assigned to juggle two schools, with teacher-aides used to patch in? When the parents have to teach the kids math, reading, writing, speech, and provide therapy privately, because the school’s SLD program fails, the school’s ADA compliance is a joke. The schools have learned to carefully rewrite and word IEP’s with ambiguous often meaningless already achieved goals and services they don’t deliver.
And the other huge issue- kids that are mainstreamed that actually need very specific small group help- they are lost in the crowd. And integrating some kids who are so severe, they entirely disrupt and are dangerous within the classrooms. They interfere with the education of the rest of the class. I know the teacher is not responsible, but the district or the state has allowed this to become the norm. I don’t know if this changes with a new Sec. of Education, or if it remains a state / local issue.
Nearly everyone I knew whose kid needed special help always ended up leaving for private schooling, boarding school, or homeschooling.