U.S. Supreme Court justices were asked Wednesday to set a higher standard for the education of disabled children, a change which could prove expensive for school districts.
That is the crux of the case brought by Endrew F., a Colorado student with autism, whose parents contend that his public school failed to give him the level of education he legally deserves. Endrew’s parents put him in private school and sued the school district to cover the cost of his private school tuition.
The Douglas County (Colorado) School District maintains it met the requirements of federal law, which guarantees disabled students a “free and appropriate public education.”
School districts around the country — and federal circuit courts — have interpreted that federal mandate differently. Endrew’s attorneys, with the backing of the U.S. Justice Department, are asking the high court to rule that schools must offer “significant” rather than “some” educational benefit to such students.
Neal Katyal, the lawyer for Douglas County School District, argued that most disabled students in public schools receive a quality education under the status quo.
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4 comments:
Grinding the schools down to the lowest common denominator
As a parent of student with a learning disability, I understand the frustration of some parents. My main beef is allowing children with violent behaviors being allow to to remain in the classroom because he/she is a special ed student. The violence creates such anxiety in the classroom, that isn't always visible, but disrupts the learning environment. Parents of children, that are sent to school and know how to behave, when are you going to stand up for your child? Your rights are being violated on a daily basis! Your child may not be a victim of physical violence but IS a victim of emotional violence. How long would you stay in a job where one of your fellow workers was unstable, any given moment they could go off, start slinging chairs and anything they could get their hands on? That is what some of your children deal with everyday! This behavior impacts classrooms from pre-k through high school. Why are these children allowed to stay in the regular classroom? Because they have a right to a free and appropriate education. Guess what, so does your children. It is not going to happen unless you speak up loudly! Stand up for your children! Your tax dollars pay for it.
Several years ago, I was on a WCBOE advisory board. I was amazed the first time I saw the amounts budgeted for " special education" - which included physical, mental and behavioral deficient children. It was nearly half of the budget!
I'm all for helping out ALL kids, but something's wrong with that. There's a reason why US students pale in comparison to other students around the world. We have to spend more on the accelerated students- or at least the same- as we do for learning disabled. We can't pull the slower learners up by disadvantaging the faster learners.
I know that sounds callous, but it's the cold, hard facts. And, yes, I also had a learning challenged child, so I'm not preaching from an ivory tower.
If our kids are expected to excel, create more programs to help them. The future of our country depends on it.
Competition breeds innovation and excellence - the current educational model (public schools) are failing due to the politics inherient to the institution -
Paladin
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