Welcome! I'm just finishing my MA in Special Ed. As a white-passing mixed person, I've had the odd "so what are you" comment here and there during my time in IC (7 years), but Iowa City for the most part has been a great place to live and work. I'm a pretty private person online, but you can PM me if you want info about the different schools here - I've worked at one specific school that I LOVE, but know a lot about the workplace and student culture of a lot of ICCSD schools. Let me know if you'd like to talk specifics about special ed in public schools here too! I think you'll find that Iowa City is a pretty great area to live. When/where I was growing up, we weren't allowed to go play in the park near my house beacause my parents were afraid of violence so I respect your worries about safety; Iowa City has a lot of safe and wonderful places for children to play and have fun.