Thomas Hehir, director of the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education, will join the faculty of the graduate School of Education (GSE) in January 2000 as a lecturer in education, according to a statement issued Monday by the GSE.

Hehir, a specialist in education for students with disabilities, will teach courses regarding disability policies and educating disabled students, according to Susan Moore Johnson, academic dean and professor of education at the GSE.

Johnson said Hehir will fill an important place in the GSE curriculum,--and that his perspective as a former policy-maker would prove valuable.

"We're certainly looking to address [special education]," Johnson said. "It's not an area we're likely to have a special program in."

Before joining Clinton's administration, Hehir served as the director of special education for the Boston Public Schools and as an associate superintendent in the Chicago school system. He earned a doctorate from the GSE in 1990.

During his term in the Department of Education, Hehir oversaw and implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which has aided in the education of six million children with disabilities.

A member of the GSE's alumni council, Hehir said he is excited to return to his former school.

"I went to the School of education and I feel I received an excellent education. It prepared me well for future challenges. There's terrific faculty, and the student body is also terrific," he said. "I have seen the school grow in ways that I'm very excited about."

But Hehir said the school could use improvement in the area of disabilities education, adding he would have the opportunity of teach the school's staff about the issue.

"We very much want the teachers and administrators to understand the [disabilities] practices and policies," Johnson said. "Any teachers or administrator has to understand the law and how to make the law work."

Mehir said although he has taught people about education his entire life, his appointment will present a new challenge.

"I have always viewed myself as a teacher," he said. "It will be a big change for me, but I'm looking forward to it."