I'm sorry but your assertion is not even close to being accurate. First off, you imply that teaching math to "special needs" students is nearly impossible, as if special needs people are all retards and incapable of learning.
I mean, what the heck are special needs students anyway? (I hate that term. To some of today's elites, the term special needs applies to any and all who are not perfect students and/or those with even the slightest of behavior problems.
Consider: Not all kids are easy-as-pie to teach, and sometimes teachers have to adapt, although it seems many in today's teacher unions are reluctant to do just that.
Furthermore, the claim that people lose their jobs if test scores go down is just plain wrong, if not hysterically ridiculous.
I mean, there is not even a "county education bureacracy" in my part of the country.
In fact, county govt. in Bucks County, Pennsylvania has very little to do with education, execpt maybe to provide a few tech schools here and there for kids who want to learn the trades rather than academics. (Local school boards answer mostly to state govt.)
Forgive my perceived beligerence, but the author of the original post was spot on when he/she implied that the Dems are cukoo for going hysterical over GWB's "No Child Left Behind" legislation, which in reality is a long overdue means of getting teachers to make some extra efforts in teaching rather than just giving up and blaming everything on the existance of "special needs" students.
I spelled it out pretty Kerrying clearly IIRC.
Maybe not in Bucks County. In Baltimore county there sure as heck is.