Research or policy – which lever pushes practice faster? A universal design for learning historical footnote: A response to Guy Boysen

The article by Guy Boysen provides an evidence-based review of sound foundational works in the field of universal design for learning (UDL). As the field of UDL continues to evolve, his work is timely and important. The questions he raises about the foundational research base supporting UDL illustrate the significance of scientific scrutiny about how research is translated into educational policy. Reading the author’s article, I realized that I had first-hand information about one aspect of the critique concerning how the initial UDL research based was identified. The purpose of this article is to provide a historical footnote that may assist the profession in analyzing the UDL evidence base and its connection to educational policy.