About this Event
Join us for a conversation on Beyond Compliance: Reclaiming Agency in Special Education by Dr. Catherine Voulgarides, a new book that challenges how we think about accountability, equity, and change in special education.
Drawing on research and lived experiences, the book examines how compliance systems both reveal and reproduce inequities—and what it would mean to move beyond technical fixes toward more humanizing, equity-centered approaches.
The event will feature a dialogue with Dr. Tania May, the Assistant Superintendent of Special Education services at the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction who wrote the foreword, and Dr. Elizabeth Kozleski, a leading expert in special education and systems change. Together, they will engage the book’s central ideas and explore what it takes to reclaim agency within and across educational systems.
The conversation is ideal for educators at all levels of the education system, as well as parents, caregivers, and scholars committed to and curious about equity in special education and systems change.
Dr. Catherine Kramarczuk Voulgarides is an Assistant Professor at CUNY—Hunter College, a faculty affiliate at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, and a faculty affiliate of the Urban Education Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. With expertise in qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, she investigates the complex factors contributing to racial disparities in special education through a systems-level lens focused on policy compliance. Her work critically examines the limitations of legal protections in promoting equity for students with disabilities, exploring the historical, political, structural, and procedural barriers that perpetuate educational inequality. She also works in collaboration with state and local partners to inform and improve policies and practices in dynamic research to practice partnerships. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Voulgarides was as a special education teacher in New York City public schools, where she gained firsthand experience with the challenges and complexities that she continues to study to date in her career.
Dr. Catherine Kramarczuk Voulgarides has several first author peer reviewed books (1 published, 2 under contract), a co-edited book, and numerous peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Her first book, published with Teachers College Press won the American Sociological Association Disability in Society Book award in 2020. She has also secured several million dollars (over 5 million) in U.S. government and foundation grants. She is currently PI on a large multi-state systems level policy focused study examining IDEA accountability mechanisms as they relate to racial disparities in special education outcomes. She is an Associate Editor for the Review of Educational Research (RER), and an editorial board member for Multiple Voices and Exceptional Children (EC). She won the “Outstanding Reviewer of the Year,” award for RER at the 2024 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting and regularly shares her work across the country with practitioners, researchers, and policymakers.
She is also a newly appointed faculty fellow for the 2025-2026 school year with the Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies (BRES) Collaboration Hub, was recently awarded the Henry Wasser Award for Outstanding Research for Assistant Professors in CUNY (2025) and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Applied Scholarship from CUNY-Hunter (2025).
Dr. Voulgarides and her team’s work on systems level and policy relevant research can be found by visiting the Comparative Exploration of IDEA Across Context website, along with updates on a series of briefs that translate key findings from their work for practitioners.
Honorable Mention for the Doris Entwisle Early Career Award (2025), Sociology of Education Section, American Sociological Association.
Elizabeth Bailey Kozleski:
I engage in systems change and research on equity and justice issues in inclusive education in schools, school systems as well as state and national education organizations and agencies. My research interests include the analysis of systems change in education, how teachers learn in practice in complex, diverse school settings, including how educational practices improve student learning. Awards include the 2023 Luminary Award from the Division of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Children, Council of Exceptional Children; the 2018 Budig Award for Teaching Excellence in Special Education at the University of Kansas; the 2017 Boeing-Allan Visiting Endowed Chair at Seattle University; the University of Kansas 2016 Woman of Distinction award; the 2013 Scholar of the Century award from the University of Northern Colorado; the 2011 TED-Merrill award for leadership in special education teacher education in 2011; and the UNESCO Chair in Inclusive International Research. I co-lead the World Education Research Association International Research Network on Student Voice for Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Schools along with Professor Kyriaki Messiou of the University of South Hampton, UK.
A number of my articles focus on the design and development of teacher education programs that involve extensive clinical practice in general education settings. I have led the development of such programs in three universities, and continue to do research and development work in teacher education. I have also offered technical assistance as well as conducted research on the impact of technical assistance on individuals, as well as local, state, and national systems in the U.S. and abroad.
I have received funding for more than $35 million in federal, state, and local grants. I serve on the Board of Editors for the book series Inclusive Education and Partnerships, an international book series produced by Deep University. Recent books include Ability, Equity, and Culture (with co-author Kathleen King Thorius) published by Teachers College Press in ‘14 and Equity on Five Continents (with Alfredo Artiles and Federico Waitoller) published in ‘11 by Harvard Education Press.
Tania May, Assistant Superintendent
The Special Education Services division is responsible for ensuring the provision of special education and related services on behalf of more than 130,000 eligible students in Washington.
Special Education Services:
Provides technical assistance and professional development designed to support and facilitate special education program improvement efforts by disseminating evidence-based and promising practices for the development of academic, health, and post-school outcomes for students eligible under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Engages stakeholders involved in, or affected by, special education services and outcomes for students with disabilities to review, analyze, and plan for system improvements and celebrate successes.
Provides general supervision of the provision of special education services through an integrated monitoring system, dispute resolution options, and coordinated data management efforts.
Allocates federal special education funding and manages the supplemental Safety Net program for individual high need students and school districts that demonstrate a unique community impact in the area of special education.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Barnes & Noble University District, 4324 University Way Northeast, Seattle, United States
USD 0.00
