From the Washington Post:

Increasing numbers of Washington-area parents say public schools are failing their children with mild autism, and are turning to private programs that provide help with social and emotional skills.

The parents say public school general education classes  weren’t providing appropriate support, leaving kids feeling depressed, vulnerable, and socially isolated.

Kathleen Atmore said she decided to place her 11-year-old son with autism in a private program after he began racewalking through the halls at his public school to avoid teasing and asking her if she ever thought about dying.

“Kids with social communication disorders want to be okay,” [Atmore] said, “but they need help. And schools need to recognize that in order to help them they have to tend to their social and emotional world. There’s no other way to do it. It’s not about the academics.”

(Washington Post photo)

From the [UK] Independent:

A leading British academic says enhanced survival rates for premature babies will cause a rapid surge in the number of students with disabilities, and could overwhelm the school system.

Professor Barry Carpenter of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust said recent medical advances now make it possible for 80 percent of premature babies to survive, but half have severe disabilities and represent “a new breed” of children who will need to be taught differently than children seen previously.

“There is an ever-increasing group of children with complex needs who do not fit the current range of learning environments, curriculum models, or teaching and learning approaches, and who are challenging our most skilled teachers,” he said.

From the Kansas City Star:

Friends and teachers say they are not surprised that 17-year-old Sarah Sherman from Overland Park, Kansas, was inducted into Blue Valley North High School’s chapter of the National Honor Society. They say she blends right into the group, even though she is the only one who has Down syndrome.

Her family says Sarah has constantly exceeded expectations and does not see limitations. To earn the award, she maintained a 3.75 grade point average and contributed 40 hours of community service by volunteering with Meals on Wheels, at her grandparents’ church, and at a nursing home doing sign language with a resident who has a hearing impairment.

“People would look at us like, ‘She can’t be doing that,’ ” said her mother, Pam Sherman. “She can. She did.”

… “I learned from experience hard work does pay off,” Sarah said. “I feel if I persevere, the work will get done, and hard work does pay off.”

(Photo from Kansas City Star)

From the Muskegon [MI] Chronicle:

Public school superintendent Steve Cousins writes that special education is the largest underfunded mandate for Michigan school districts.  While Michigan works to provide special-education services to a wider range of people than any other state, lack of federal and state funding puts the burden on local districts and causes a pattern of inequity, he says. An excerpt:

Today, students with disabilities are just part of the rich fabric that makes up the American public school system. Their talents and unique perspectives add substance to the educational experience of all children, and we are better for it. It is a legacy for which we all should be proud. It is one that is uniquely American in its breadth and depth.

Steve Cousins is superintendent of Reeths-Puffer Schools.

(Photo from Muskegon Chronicle)

From USA Today:

As the number of school-age children with diabetes rises, experts say, tight budgets are forcing an increasing number of schools to do without full-time nurses. That can leave students without the medical support they need to maintain blood sugars at safe levels at school, and prompt parents to keep fragile kids out of class.

Parents say school officials are urging them to reroute their kids away from their home schools in search of nursing support. Ed Kraus, associate professor at Chicago Kent Law School, says it is discriminatory to reroute a child to another school, away from friends and siblings, because of a health condition.

From ABC News (with video):

Two teacher’s aides are facing felony criminal charges for allegedly abusing Montana middle school students with disabilities last year.

Witnesses have accused Julie Parish and Kristina Marie Kallies of abusing 14-year Garret Schilling, who has Fragile X syndrome and limited verbal skills, by holding his head under running water, making him eat his own vomit, and leaving him sitting in his own feces for prolonged periods.

Other families have also come forward with allegations of abuse, including one report that a girl with cerebral palsy came home with chunks of hair missing.

The aides have resigned but deny the allegations.

See also:

Great Falls educators open window on special ed in wake of abuse charges — Great Falls Tribune

Editorial: Sunshine could help reassure special-needs community — Great Falls Tribune

Attorney general won’t investigate alleged school abuse — Great Falls Tribune

Special Ed Teacher Accused of Abusing Students – [Nashville, TN] WSMV

Lawsuit claims teacher abused special needs students – Nashville Newschannel5

From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu Advertiser:

Lawyers representing Hawaii public school students in both general and special education filed class action lawsuits this week in an attempt to prevent the state from cutting 17 days from the school year.

The suit filed on behalf of students receiving special education services alleges that the “furlough Fridays” violate federal law by changing programs and services for students without parental approval.

UPDATE: Judge rejects effort to effort to keep schools open — Honolulu Star-Bulletin