From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

A Pennsylvania school district has agreed to pay a $5 million settlement in response to a federal civil rights suit filed by parents who said their children with autism had been tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape. Defendants in the lawsuit, which included the Scranton-area school district as well as the teacher and other officials, did not admit wrongdoing.

Parents of seven children in the Abington Heights School District alleged that teacher Susan Comerford Wzorek slapped children, pulled them by the hair, stepped on their feet and, in one case, pulled a child across the room by the cast on his broken arm. After the allegations were lodged in 2006, Wzorek entered a no-contest plea to a criminal charge of recklessly endangering the welfare of children and served a 30-day jail term for a probation violation. She is now retired.

Plaintiffs attorneys said the settlement appeared to be the largest ever in Pennsylvania involving abuse of children in a special education classroom.

See also: Autistic children abused in Pa. classroom to get $5 million to settle federal lawsuit — AP/Los Angeles Times

Wzorek’s criminal attorney has said she never intentionally harmed any student and alleged that she was not provided with adequate training, guidance or support.

Bipartisan measure would take ‘retarded’ out of federal lexicon

The Hill reports as non-controversial a bill that would eliminate all references to the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded individual” in federal law.

Known as Rosa’s Law, the bipartisan measure will be marked up in the Senate Health, Education and Pensions Committee this week. It is patterned after a Maryland statute that was passed unanimously last year.

Attention to the word “retard’s” hurtful consequences has taken off in recent years, thanks in part to the outspoken former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose son Trig has Down syndrome. Palin called for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to be fired earlier this year after he called liberal healthcare activists “f—–g retarded,” but she has been less forceful when conservatives such as talk radio show Rush Limbaugh have used the term.

The measure has 42 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate and 30 in the House. Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who introduced the bill, has said it “will not expand nor diminish services, rights or educational opportunities.”

From the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (registration required), Google/AP:

The federal Department of Justice has filed suit against the state of Arkansas for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act, alleging that the state illegally segregates hundreds of people with developmental disabilities.

The lawsuit accused Arkansas of a “systemic failure” that places people with disabilities in large institutions instead of pursuing less restrictive options for their care in community-based settings.

“The state gives individuals with developmental disabilities the draconian choice of receiving services in segregated institutions or receiving no services at all,” the lawsuit reads.

“Arkansas illegally segregates hundreds of individuals in institutions across the state and places hundreds more at risk of needless institutionalization,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez, chief of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are acting now to remedy discrimination against these individuals.”

Arkansas officials said the state is complying with the ADA, and pledged to fight the federal lawsuit. “We will defend the right of our families to choose where they will have their loved ones served,” said a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

From NJ.com:

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has signed legislation designed to identify caregivers who neglect or exploit people with disabilities under their care.

The measure will create a statewide registry, as well as an emergency hotline for reports of suspected abuse. It follows the 2008  death of Tara O’Leary, a 28-year-old woman with a developmental disability who starved to death while living in a state-licensed foster home. A caretaker and the foster home owner have been indicted in that case.

“Abuse at the hands of a caregiver is a reprehensible action,” Christie said in a statement. “The legislation that I am signing today is an important tool to help safeguard those with developmental disabilities from harmful caregivers taking advantage of their position. Equally important, this new law will prevent these custodians from gaining re-employment or continuing participation in human services funded programs.”

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is calling on President Obama to name a Supreme Court nominee who will uphold the rights of people with disabilities.

From the center’s website:

Despite Congress’s bipartisan passage in 2008 of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) to restore the law’s broad reach after years of hostile court rulings, judges are still getting the ADA wrong -– still shutting the courthouse door on people with disabilities. We need a leader every bit as strong as Justice Stevens to ensure full enforcement of the ADA and other important disability rights laws. Justice Stevens’ replacement must be committed to the protection of disability rights.

The full text of the center’s action alert is here.

Claim they weren’t adequately informed by adoption agency

From the New York Times:

A couple from Virginia Beach is suing Bethany Christian Services, an adoption agency, seeking compensation for the care of their Russian adoptive son, Roman. Chip and Julie Harshaw claim the agency misled them about Roman’s condition, describing him as “a beautiful, healthy, on-target, blond-haired boy.”

After repeated bouts of hyperactivity and aggression, the boy was diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, brain damage and neuropsychiatric problems, with an IQ of 53. He was placed in an institution, and one of his doctors said he is not expected to ever live independently.

The Harshaws are among a growing number of parents who have made complaints against adoption agencies in recent years, claiming that they were not adequately informed about their children before adopting them. The Harshaws say they told the agency they could care only for a child with minimal health problems and a “good prognosis for normal development,” and would not have adopted their son if they had known the extent of his impairments. Bethany disputes most of their claims.

See also:

Fetal alcohol syndrome suspected in ‘returned’ adoption– Boston Herald

Fetal alcohol disorders common in Eastern European adoptees — Reuters

Adopted boy’s return highlights problems in Russian orphanages — Washington Post

Adoptive parents take on more than a child — National Public Radio

Russian adoptees get a respite on the range — New York Times

From GreenwichTime.com:

The Greenwich, Connecticut, school district has asked a group of graduate students to help it work better with parents to avoid costly litigation over special education services for children with disabilities.

The students, who are training at SUNY Oswego College to be school superintendents, will conduct case studies of 20 Greenwich families who pursued legal cases against the district last school year. The research will come at no cost to the district.

“We want to know what led parents to get to that point,” said Superintendent of Schools Sidney Freund. “What led them to go outside the district to get a resolution to a conflict?”