Kalman “Buzzy” Hettleman has had a notable career on the frontlines of education policy and politics. He has represented pro bono over 200 students in special education, while developing systemic policy reforms and advocating for them at the state, local and national levels. His published reports on special education and struggling learners include: Students with Disabilities Can Succeed!: How the Baltimore City Public Schools are Transforming Special Education; The Invisible Dyslexics: How Public School Systems in Baltimore and Elsewhere Discriminate Against Poor Children in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Early Reading Difficulties; and The Road to Nowhere: The Illusion and Broken Promises of Special Education.
During 2016–2018, he was a member of the Maryland Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education, charged by the governor and state legislature with recommending comprehensive, statewide K-12 school reform. In Baltimore, he has been a member of the school board twice, deputy mayor/executive assistant for education (and other social programs) under two mayors, and executive director of a large dropout prevention project.
His acclaimed book It’s the Classroom, Stupid: A Plan to Save America’s Schoolchildren was published in 2010. Other published articles have appeared in The Nation, Education Week, the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun.
He has further served as Maryland cabinet secretary for social welfare programs, and director of the Baltimore department of social services, taught social policy at several universities, been a public interest attorney, and managed state and local political campaigns.