Lawrence C. Gloeckler is the Executive Director of the Special Education Institute at the International Center for Leadership in Education. In this role he works with state education agencies, universities, and local school districts throughout the country on strategies to improve performance for students with disabilities. He also speaks about these issues at national and regional meetings of school district personnel and educational organizations.

He is currently working with the State Education agencies in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Hawaii, Iowa, Nevada, Michigan and New Hampshire on efforts to improve performance for students with disabilities and at risk populations. He is also working with school districts in North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan on strategic initiatives and analyzing local school district special education data to assist districts in improving performance for these students.

From 1989-2003, Mr. Gloeckler was Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Education Department. In this role, he served as both State Director of Special Education and State Director of Vocational Rehabilitation as well as being responsible for administering the state’s Independent Living Program.

Mr. Gloeckler began his career in education as a teacher of students with mental retardation. He has also served as a Special Education Coordinator at the local level. He served for five years as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education. He also served as chair of the Interagency Relations Committee of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation. He has spoken throughout the country about issues regarding services to people with disabilities and about performance-based accountability in government.

In November 1999, he received the Heritage Award, given by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of special education. He served as President of NASDSE from November 2000 to November 2001. From 2000-02 he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of CARF…The Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission, an independent international not-for-profit commission which serves as the standards setting and accrediting body for rehabilitation and life enhancement programs and services for people with disabilities. He is a member of the Technical Advisory Board of the National Research Center on Learning Disabilities co-located at the University of Kansas and Vanderbilt University, serves on the Professional Advisory Board to the National Center for Learning Disabilities in New York City, has served as a Policy Consultant to the National Center on Special Education Accountability and Monitoring at Louisiana State University and is on the Board of the National Center on Post-Secondary Outcomes at the University of Oregon. He also served on the Critical Issues Committee for the State Departments of Education in Maryland and California.