Why your school needs The Nora Project

We need K-12 disability studies for all students in Illinois NOW.

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has become a critical focus in Illinois schools. The Illinois State Board of Education recently issued new Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards to guide schools in the professional development of their educators and the advancement of DEI for their students. Many districts have hired administrators to oversee the implementation of new DEI programming and have formed parent task forces to advance the issue in the broader community. Yet despite the fact that one in four Americans has a disability, disability as a form of diversity is often left out of these DEI conversations. 

This failure has consequences. 

It perpetuates the systemic segregation of students with intellectual disabilities and autism from their peers. It reinforces ableist beliefs that disabled lives have less value, leading nondisabled students to pity their disabled peers and disabled students to internalize shame and perceive false limitations on their futures. Of course, the impacts don’t end when school does. Adults with disabilities in Illinois are far more likely to be unemployed or underemployed than their nondisabled counterparts. They’re also more likely to be homeless, incarcerated, or institutionalized. Indeed, as of 2019, Illinois was ranked 44th of all 50 states for inclusion of people with disabilities. We need to change the way we talk about disability in Illinois schools, teaching children from a young age that disability is diversity, that it’s natural, that people with disabilities are entitled to dignified lives and to live in and contribute to their communities. 

All students need access to this education because disability impacts everyone--people of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, nationalities, and economic backgrounds. The Nora Project offers comprehensive professional development, curriculum, and support to schools interested in teaching about disability as diversity and facilitating meaningful inclusion of all students. 

Illinois (and more than a dozen other states) actually requires districts to teach disability studies, but too few districts have complied. The law in Illinois is clear: “A school district shall provide instruction on disability history, people with disabilities, and the disability rights movement . . . This instruction must be founded on the principle that all students, including students with disabilities, have the right to exercise self-determination.” 105 ILCS 5/27-23.8. Our programs do this.

Registration for The Nora Project for the 2022/23 school year is now open. We hope to expand our footprint in Illinois and across the country--bringing more schools into compliance and building ability inclusive mindsets across the next generation. Let’s make this year a year of change--a year of inclusion.

Learn more about our program offerings today and/or complete this registration form to indicate your interest for the upcoming school year. 

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