This article begins by reviewing the author's work on the social construction and representation of school failure as student disability an on the reconstruction of special education and public education to avoid the need for such representations. In the remaining sections, he identifies several trends in education and society and, by linking them, recommends that the field of learning disabilities join the struggle to create a strong democratic future for students and communities, a project that involves transforming education and American democracy itself and begins with a transformation of professionalism in education and special education.