New Hampshire Bulletin

Angelina Leo, an Exeter High School senior, said that without the special education services she received throughout her time in school, she wouldn’t even be able to speak. Leo, who has physical and learning disabilities, sees herself as an example of why special education works. She can now read and write. She also has siblings who have benefited from special education. That’s why when she heard about cuts and changes to the federal Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, she was “peeved.” “And then I was scared,” she said Monday at a demonstration in Concord opposing the changes. “Because what does that mean for me going into college, and what does that mean for my younger siblings, some of which need more help than I needed?” Leo said that in elementary school, her teachers told her mother she’d never graduate high school. Now, she’s on pace to graduate and hopes to attend a community college for a few years before going to the University of New Hampshire to study biomedical engineering. She would like to one day create mobility and accessibility devices for people with disabilities.