From the Santa Monica [CA] Daily Press, Santa Monica Lookout, Malibu Times, Santa Monica Mirror and elsewhere:

The school district comprising the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, California, boasts “world-class public schools” on its website, but parents of children with disabilities are challenging that view and alleging that district policies have created a culture of coercion, secrecy and fear.

At issue is the district’s frequent reliance on confidential contracts with parents to resolve disagreements over services for children with disabilities. The confidentiality clauses — which parents call “gag orders” — bar parents from speaking to third parties about the services their children receive. School officials have said the settlement agreements save money by keeping legal costs down.

Parental complaints about the confidentiality clauses led the Santa Monica City Council to withhold half a million dollars from the school district budget pending a resolution of the dispute. That decision then prompted an independent audit of the special education program in which auditors criticized the broad use of the secret agreements.

The report, by Lou Barber and Associates, was unveiled at an emotional school board meeting earlier this month in which parents testified that they had been lied to, bullied, intimidated, misled and punished for advocating for basic services for their children.

It said the district had entered into 140 such agreements over the past three years, a number auditors said “needs to be reduced dramatically.” Other California districts use few if any such agreements, the report said.

The audit also found that students in special education at Santa Monica High School have their class schedules programmed last, and therefore are often unable to meet their program requirements. This practice, the report said, fosters an attitude that these students are “second class citizens.”

“You’re not doing anything to help special ed kids move in and be a part of society,” one parent, said. “Shame on you.”

Responding to the audit, School Superintendent Dianne Talarico promised to create a culture of inclusion in the district. She did not promise to eliminate the confidentiality agreements, but rather to use them “only as a last resort.”

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has about 12,000 students. Approximately 11.5 percent of its students are identified as receiving special education services.

See also: District officials recommend changes to special ed

Local commentary here.

[Editor's note: Coverage in the Santa Monica Daily Press is not searchable via the web.]

This entry was posted on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 2:34 pm and is filed under advocacy, NOT2BEMISSED, parents, special education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.