2026 TASH Conference

Purpose: This Research Colloquium will present papers and facilitate discussion on the topics
introduced in a Special Issue (under review) at Research and Practice for Persons with
Disabilities titled Ableism: The Unconfronted Issues in the Debate about the Least Restrictive
Environment and Inclusive Education. This Special Issue includes 6 papers the address the
critical need in the special education field to recognize that there are systemic factors, shaped by
ableism, that drive where and how students with disabilities, particularly students with complex
support needs, are taught and the pervasive and lasting impacts of endorsing a continuum that
suggest that some students do not have the right to inclusive supports, confronting recent articles,
commentaries, and special issues discount or ignore research on the benefits of inclusive
education. This Research Colloquium will include presentations by paper authors and a
facilitated discussion on the topics introduced the Special Issue.

Timeline: There will be a 30-minute break in the middle, and a 30-minute facilitated discussion
by authors at the end.

12:00 – 12:30 Introductions and Paper Presentation 1:
Title: A Call to Action: Shifting the Policy Debate to Challenging the Ableism in Special
Education Policy and Practice
Presenters: Jennifer Kurth and Karrie Shogren
Topic: In this introduction, we assert that the greatest challenge to the field of special education
is not only where and what to teach students with disabilities but is instead how to achieve the
premise of federal special education law - ensuring equality of opportunity, full participation,
independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. To achieve
these outcomes, ableism that permeates our schools and community cultures must be addressed
and dismantled. In this paper, we outline some of the flaws of the argument made by Fuchs et al.
(2025) and argue that as special education researchers and advocates we must fully consider the
where, how, why, who, and what of special education supports and services in anti-ableist ways.
We will introduce the other presentations and presentations, outlining how each contribute to
shifting the policy debate and challenging ableism in special education policy and practice. There
will be an initial facilitated discussion of reactions to this topic.

12:30 – 1:00 Paper Presentation 2 and Short Discussion:
Title: Lived Experiences with Inclusive Education
Presenters: Bailey Allred and co-authors
Topic: Understanding inclusive education, ableism, and the interaction between both is perhaps
best described by people with complex support needs who have firsthand experience receiving
special education services in school. This article will rely on data gathered from interviews
and/or focus groups involving people with complex support needs in which they describe their
lived experiences with inclusive education and ableism. Data from these interviews and focus
groups will be synthesized, with a focus on personal experiences and the implications of those
experiences on future research and practice.

1:00 – 1:30 Paper Presentation 3 and Short Discussion:
Title: Ableism in the Inclusion Debate: Analyzing How Special Education Research Frames
Disability and Access
Presenters: Kathryn M. Burke and colleagues
Topic: In this scoping review, we focus on how ableism is reflected in special education research
related to inclusion, placement, and decision-making. Across the literature on the "inclusion
debate" in the U.S., we analyze the ways in which disability and access are conceptualized
within language and expectations for students with disabilities, logic and rationale for
educational placement, approaches to research, and models of disability. Findings suggest that
ableist framings appear across ideological positions, indicating that ableism is embedded in the
broader discourse in the field, and we discuss implications for research and practice.

1:30 – 2:00 Break

2:00 – 2:30 Paper Presentation 4 and Short Discussion:
Title: Exclusion by design: A critical scoping review of intersectionality and institutionalized
oppression of students with complex support needs
Presenters: Zach Rossetti and colleagues
Topic: Understanding how ableism and other systems of oppression (e.g., racism, linguicism,
classism) intersect to produce and sustain segregation of multiply marginalized students with
complex support needs (CSN) is necessary to address disproportionalities and increase inclusive
education. In this presentation, we share the results of a critical scoping review of literature on
inclusive education for students with CSN, focusing particularly on articles that described how
multiple systems of oppression operate to segregate multiply marginalized students with CSN.
There were 12 such articles among the full corpus of 263. Findings indicated a normalized
culture of segregation and a need to center multiply marginalized students with CSN from policy
to the classroom.

2:30 – 3:00 Paper Presentation 5 and Short Discussion:
Title: Resisting false binaries and daring to trust our students
Presenters: Andrea Ruppar and colleagues
Topic: In this presentation, we will examine how false binaries embedded in special education —
disabled/nondisabled, compliance/self-determination, placement/belonging — reproduce
colonial logics that marginalize disabled students as objects of intervention rather than partners
in their educational journey. Drawing on Baker's outlaw ontology, crip theory (McRuer, 2006),
and care work (Piepzna-Samarasinha, 2018), we argue that disrupting these binaries begins with
daring to trust disabled students as epistemic partners. Using a case example of a student with
minimally verbal autism, we offer recommendations for building care networks, honoring crip
time, and supporting multimodal communication in everyday practice.

3:00 – 3:30 Paper Presentation 6 and Short Discussion:
Title: Advancing Inclusive Practices and Conversations
Presenters: Karrie Shogren and Jennifer Kurth
Topic: In this presentation, we will bring together the key themes across all paper and discuss
how the concept of ‘inclusive education’ has been debated for years, and that there is a need for
clarity around what is, and is not, inclusive education. In this paper, we review existing
definitions of inclusive education and then present a research-informed definition that aligns with
student-centered and anti-ableist frameworks. We will facilitate discussions with the audience
about this topic, as well as the overall Special Issue and key concepts related to moving toward
anti-ableist practices and centering students.

3:30 – 4:00 Overall Discussion and Review of Action Steps

Time will be left for overall discussion, integration of key themes, and action steps.

Overall, the content of this session, while focused on academic debates about inclusive
education, will also focus on the implications for families and practitioners and equipping them
with knowledge about how decision making about the where, when, what, how, and why of
special education is influenced by broader factors in the field, informing advocacy efforts at the
individual level to support access to inclusive education as well as broader policy change.
We hope all audience members will take away:

1. Definitions of ableism and its influence on special education decision making
2. Anti-ableist practices that can advance inclusive education
3. Greater understanding of the l

Meet Our Opening General Session Keynote Speaker: 
Valerie A. Arkoosh, MD, MPH
Pennsylvania Secretary of Human Services


Valerie A. Arkoosh, MD, MPH, was appointed to lead the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services by Governor Josh Shapiro on January 17, 2023.Secretary Arkoosh leads a team of 16,000 who serve approximately 4 million Pennsylvanians through programs including Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, Early Intervention and Child Care Works, and services that address the needs of individuals with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities as well as child welfare and juvenile justice programs. Secretary Arkoosh focuses on embedding a whole-person, proactive, and preventive approach to service and care delivery, building supports and interventions that help Pennsylvanians achieve greater stability and better health. Under her leadership, PA DHS has expanded Medicaid coverage for evidence-based programs like doula care and street medicine, launched PA Navigate to connect health care providers and social services/non-profit systems to those needing services in their communities, and invested in access to care by working to eliminate the adult emergency waiting list for Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism. Secretary Arkoosh prioritizes efficient and effective program operations, overseeing Pennsylvania’s work to complete the 2023 Medicaid unwinding on time, under budget, and as a national leader in accurate and timely redeterminations. Arkoosh has also co-led the development of significant Shapiro administration priorities including the Maternal Health Strategic Action Plan, “Healthy Moms Vibrant Futures” and the Pennsylvania Housing Action Plan.

Prior to state service, Secretary Arkoosh was elected to and served on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners for eight years and was elected by her colleagues to serve as Commission Chair from November 2016 through January 2023, the first woman ever to serve as Chair. Arkoosh strengthened services for children, veterans, and seniors. She led efforts to eliminate street homelessness of veterans and streamline delivery of human services. Arkoosh instituted a $15 minimum wage and gender-neutral paid parental leave for County employees and oversaw a multi-pronged, integrated response to the opioid overdose epidemic, including issuing a standing order in 2015 to enable pharmacies in the County to dispense the overdose antidote naloxone upon request. As a physician and public health professional, Secretary Arkoosh was at the center of Montgomery County’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, leading a data- and science-driven approach to the unprecedented challenge. Arkoosh’s leadership was praised during the county’s response, especially her transparency and public communication throughout the pandemic.

Arkoosh is a graduate of the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, received a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and holds a B.A. in economics from Northwestern University. She performed her residency at Jefferson Medical College in Anesthesiology with a special focus in Obstetrics. Prior to stepping into public service, Secretary Arkoosh was Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.

Upon obtaining her Master of Public Health in 2007, Arkoosh became deeply engaged in the national effort to achieve comprehensive health care reform. She led the National Physicians Alliance, a national non-profit organization of physicians, who, putting their patients before profits, joined a broad-based nation-wide coalition for reform. During this time, she developed policy and legislative strategy, and promoted public engagement in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and throughout the country. Dr. Arkoosh maintains comprehensive knowledge of the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its impact on individuals and the health care system and remains committed to creating sustainable pathways for every American to have access to quality, affordable health care.