From the New York Times:

School districts across the country are struggling to meet the needs of students who were once predominately isolated in institutions. Among the hard questions districts face:

• How can schools balance instruction in functional skills and academics for students with severe disabilities, even as they are providing custodial care?
• Is inclusion really helping these students?
• How can schools measure progress reliably for these students?

The Times highlights the story of Donovan Forde, 20, who has cognitive disabilities brought on by a traumatic brain injury that occurred when he was hit by a car as an infant. After 15 years in the New York City school system, his mother says, Forde is more social but has made almost no other progress. He is not able to walk, speak or feed himself, and has not achieved most of the goals set out in his education plan. When not in school, Forde lives in a nursing facility on Roosevelt Island and receives services that are paid by Medicaid.

An excerpt:

Because they need intensive interventions, students like Donovan do not fit neatly into the paradigm for special education that has prevailed in the United States for more than a decade: inclusion. Congress ranks each state for its success in moving special education children into general education classrooms, addressing a core concern in the field – that too many children are not getting access to the regular curriculum.

But whether Donovan is best served in an academic-focused classroom is an uncomfortable question for many educators, because few better options are available, and inclusion “indicates a level of hope for parents, and the absence of hope is deadly,” said David Rose, the founder of CAST, a national organization that works to expand learning opportunities for students with disabilities.

“It’s an awkward period,” Mr. Rose said, in talking about the education of children with the most severe cognitive disabilities. “Because we know what we are doing is not right, and we often don’t talk about things when we don’t know what we are doing about them yet.”

From Education Week:

At least two states have received federal permission to cut back on the money they spend on special education, and officials at the U.S. Department of Education are considering a request from a third.

Iowa and Kansas have both won permission for the funding cuts, which can be granted under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) when states are struggling financially. South Carolina’s request is pending.

Special education advocates say this is the first time they’re aware that such economic hardship waivers have been granted. With states facing record budget shortfalls and soaring special education costs, one education finance expert said, more waiver requests may be coming.

More information here.

Related post here.

Writing in the Los Angeles Times, school superintendent Ramon C Cortines defends his recent statement that special education funding takes services away from “regular kids.” The comment came in an article about plans by the Los Angeles Unified School district to close 200 special education classrooms.

An excerpt from Cortines’ letter:

… if legislation refers to students as “special” and refers to other students outside this population as “regular,” I believe that my word usage was proper.

I do not discriminate. My record supports this.

Earlier posts here and here.

Letter writers to the Los Angeles Times take issue with LA school superintendent Ramon C. Cortines’ assertion that special ed funding takes services away from “regular kids.” The comment came in an article about the district’s plans to cut 200 special ed classes.

Said one writer:

Perhaps Cortines would prefer we revert to the not-so-distant past and pull resources entirely that allow children with special needs to be productive members of society and reach their potential. Then we can channel even more funding to those “regular” kids.

Maybe I’m naive, but in my world we measure our humanity by how willing we are to support those who struggle the most. I prefer my world to that of Cortines.

Advocates worry that budget woes are turning back the clock for kids with disabilities

From the Los Angeles Times:

Faced with a multi-million dollar deficit, the Los Angeles Unified School District has announced plans for massive cuts in spending on services for students with disabilities. Some 200 special education classrooms will be closed, as well as a specialized campus. Among schools targeted for cutbacks is Hollywood’s Frances Blend School for students with multiple disabilities.

“Blend has one adult to every three kids,” said L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines. “Some of those are very, very severe cases, but you have to look at it in perspective. When you fund some of the special ed things, you’re taking from regular kids.” (emphasis added.)

Critics say the cuts reveal a pervasive focus on saving money by limiting services to individual children.

… Serving the disabled costs more than the state and federal governments pay for. The overrun for this year is $628 million from the general fund, which is intended for the district’s regular program.

… About 13% of students in the nation’s second-largest district have a recognized disability. And their education has long been a sensitive subject.

The federal government requires a “free and appropriate” individual program for disabled students but pays only about 17% of the added cost.

… The closing of 200 classrooms will likely force thousands of children into longer commutes to other schools, where average class sizes could grow substantially. At the same time, the district is reducing busing for disabled children to save as much as $7.4 million.

Earlier post here.

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.

By columnist Dennis McCarthy in the Los Angeles Daily News:

The Los Angeles Unified School District has cancelled its summer classes for adults with developmental disabilities for the first time in 20 years, thanks to the budget crisis. Veteran special ed teacher Robert Zazula, who will be laid off for the summer as a result of the cuts, is angry that his students won’t be served even as English-as-second-language classes are preserved.

An excerpt from McCarthy’s interview with Zazula:

“My people matter, and for anyone to say they don’t, whatever the reason, is wrong,” the Bronx, N.Y.-born teacher says.

“These people were born into a world where they are not as fortunate as the rest of us. They need our continued support. Now that there’s a budget crisis we’re going to forget about them?”

… “Why ESL classes all year and not the disabled? We don’t matter anymore?”