Larry Wexler

Larry Wexler has been a special educator for 54 years as a teacher of students with significant disabilities, principal, state specialist for intellectual disabilities, chief of staff for the State Director of Special Education, director of state monitoring, Retired Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) project officer, Deputy Director of the Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division and Associate Division Director responsible for OSEP’s National Initiatives Team. Dr. Wexler was the Director of OSEP’s Research to Practice Division for fourteen years where he managed the IDEA $250 million discretionary grants program and the IDEA data until retiring in 2024.

He has represented the United States on the Council of UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education, led UNICEF sponsored delegations to South Africa and Lesotho and represented, for twelve years, the Department of Education on the Federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. He also served as the Department of Education’s policy expert on restraint and seclusion. He currently works as an independent consultant focusing on supporting entities in their pursuit of Federal, State and private philanthropic funding opportunities. Dr. Wexler holds a doctorate with a concentration in severe disabilities from the Johns Hopkins University, a Masters Degree in Teaching from Howard University and a Bachelors Degree in International Relations from the School of International Service at American University.