I first became an activist when teacher Rigoberto Ruelas got slimed by the Los Angeles Times VAM rankings, an act of cruelty that family and friends say drove him to take his own life. I knew he wasn’t the first martyr. Many have suffered from the fantasies of an uninformed (and unelected) elite. Testing begets opportunity. Conformity begets success—these are all lies they tell us that abuse the children we’re supposed to protect. And lies aren’t equal. Some are easy to see; others not so much.

As a special education teacher, I am constantly warned not to over-identify African American students because too many receive special education services when compared to white students. This has always seemed strange to me. First, I cannot identify anyone. An IEP team composed of parents, teachers and specialists makes that call. And when they weigh a particular student they do so on many levels, with due diligence. That’s the law.

So why, for years, have we accepted what a team of researchers has recently debunked. Is it possible the same students we are not supposed to over-serve are being underserved?

The reformers won’t tell you. They’re too busy spinning for that. They’re too enthralled with their fantasies to question anything that argues against them. That job is ours.