It’s Not About the Free Tacos

Along with writing blog posts like this, part of my job for Liipfert Law Group, PLLC is to find content for our social media accounts. I follow disability-related news from across our nation and around the world. Recently, a story from the great state of Wisconsin caught my eye for potentially insidious reasons.

You might have heard the old proverb, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I think that saying fits this situation perfectly. In Bristol, Wisconsin, there are efforts to build a new community college called Matthias Academy. Their goal is to create a post-secondary option catering specifically towards people with severe intellectual and developmental disabilities. There will be places to work, places to learn, and locations for housing.

The mission of providing more opportunities for people with severe disabilities is laudable and should always be encouraged. The part that bothers me is separating them from the rest of the population. Their website does say that they are going to encourage the surrounding community to participate, but segregation always makes me nervous. State-run institutions had a similarly positive message of providing care and safety for people with disabilities, and their exterior always appeared beautiful. The insides of the institutions were horrible, and mistreatment was rampant.

I’m not claiming that the same thing will happen at Matthias Academy. However, it could happen if they are not successful in their attempts to include the rest of the community. Instead of building a new segregated option, it would have been better for the organizers of Matthias to negotiate with the more inclusive higher education options which serve people with disabilities.

The good news is there is a nation-wide effort to make the college experience more accessible to all students, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. You can find a nation-wide map of these options on a website called “Think College” https://thinkcollege.net/college-search.

Although I sympathize with the motivation behind the Matthias Academy, I’m afraid that could be a step in the wrong direction if they’re not extremely careful.

This issue is very close to my heart. I have been working throughout North Carolina to support inclusive college experiences by sitting on a group called The Post-Secondary Education Alliance. I’m honored to be considered a founding member of this group. Over the last ten years, the movement in North Carolina has continued to grow. Now I’m proud that my home state has 15 options, according to the Think College database.

I have a running joke with my assistant that we go to that meeting because of the free taco bar. But it’s not really about the tacos. Having inclusive college experience means better outcomes, more diverse friendships, and better opportunities post-graduation.

I’ve often written about how I’ve benefitted from my inclusive education throughout my career. I want other people with IDD to have an opportunity to experience the college environment because it’s one of the most formative experiences of all our lives. Segregating people might seem safer, but since the 1960s, American life is not supposed to be divided. Separating people robs them of the opportunity to adapt and develop natural supports, which will help them in later life.

One of my colleagues at the PSEA recently co-wrote a book detailing how her college came up with the University Participant Program at Western Carolina University so that other colleges can learn from their example. Before the Matthias Academy builds a completely segregated environment, I would encourage them to read the how-to book, Teaching, Including, and Supporting College Students with Intellectual Disabilities.  By Kelly Kelley and David L. Westling. My position is we should include everyone to the maximum extent possible. I hope the people at the Matthias Academy agree, but time will tell.

That’s how I roll.