Spec. Ed. Advocates Making To-Do List for Duncan

Advocates for students with disabilities have a full agenda for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, including rolling out long-awaited regulations for educating young children and cracking down on the use of restraints and seclusion as school disciplinary measures.

During his seven-year tenure as the chief executive officer of the 408,000-student Chicago school district, Mr. Duncan was not known for an interest in disability issues, some advocates in the city say. They are critical of his record as the chief of the nation’s third-largest district.

“He’s not been a great supporter of special ed. I don’t think he dislikes special-needs kids; it just wasn’t on his radar screen during the time he was here,” said Rodney D. Estvan, the education outreach coordinator for Access Living, a Chicago advocacy group...