NYT: U.S. Issues New Rules on Schools and Learning Disabilities

[DeepModem Mom]

U.S. Issues New Rules on Schools and Disability
By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO
Published: August 4, 2006

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 — For more than 25 years, federal law had required that schools nationwide identify children as learning disabled by comparing their scores on intelligence tests with their academic achievement. This meant that many students had to wait until third or fourth grade to get the special education help they needed.

In regulations issued today after changes to the law, the federal Education Department said states could not require school districts to rely on that method, allowing districts to find other ways to determine which children are eligible for extra help.

It was the final step in the federal government’s repudiation of the old approach, which had come under severe criticism from advocates for children with disabilities, testing experts and eventually federal officials themselves. Advocates for those children applauded the change.

“If you talk to principals and special ed directors, there is pent-up demand for better ways to serve struggling kids than waiting until they crash and burn in third and fourth grade,’’ said James H. Wendorf, executive director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities. The new rules also require schools to alert parents as they begin exploring whether children may need special education, another change that won praise from advocates for children with disabilities.

The regulations come after Congress updated laws covering special education for some six million schoolchildren nationwide in late 2004....

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/04/education/04education.html?_r=1&oref=login

[ThomCat]

1. Well Hot Damn! It's about time!

[davsand]

2. Well, it's a start, I guess.

Seems to me that there are an awful lot of times that kids' parents are put in the position of BEGGING the school to do something to help a kid with an issue and it doesn't happen. If they were serious about "leave no child behind," they should have done something to actually encourage schools to even LOOK for kids who have special needs rather than turn a blind eye.

There is a little girl in Material Girl's class whose mom was in that position just last year. Abby (a made up name) is a great little girl, but she has some major issues with retaining information. (I coach this kid and I know first hand what she's dealing with.)

There are techniques she and her mom have learned together at home that have helped her some, but the kid was falling farther behind every quarter. The Mom went into see Abby's teachers--EVERY YEAR, several times a year, and they'd agree there was a problem, but that was as far as it went.

That single mom paid out of her own pocket for screening, tutoring, and special private programs for her kid for four years before the school finally did something to help that child. What finally turned it around was the mom got a lawyer that understood ADA law.

I know another Mom from a different school district who has been told that her kid is doing "too well" to be classified as special needs. She's been told his grades are too good. He's DEAF, and has a couple of other issues, and that school refuses to do an IEP on the kid...

I'm not bashing the teachers here--because I do think they care a great deal, as a general rule. I am, however, mad as hell that our society can't seem to get to a place where you don't have to fight every step of the way to get somebody to even recognize your kid is or might be special needs.

Like I said, this change in the laws is a start, I guess.


Laura

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Thanks for sharing your experience with this, davsand. nt

[mopinko]

10. you do need a lawyer

or they at least need to think that you could afford one. i have been through the wringer on this shit, and i can tell you that you have to make it your full time job for a while.

[msongs]

4. political hos with another unfunded mandate to screw schools?

good news up front but...

the feds pass these laws full of penalties for non-compliance, laws which place huge financial burdens on public schools, then refuse to pay for the costs incurred. thus local school districts must take $$ out of other programs to pay for the costs of special ed.

it is time for the democrats and republicans in congress to fully fund the special ed requirments THEY have mandated and quit punishing children of all sorts and forcing districts to pit education divisions against one another.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/2007politicalcalendars.htm

[earth mom]

9. I was thinking along the same lines.

* & his rethuglican buddies don't want to spend "their" money on anyone. Even though that money belongs to the people! They are out to destroy the public school system, make no mistake! :grr:

[Kailassa]

5. I'm in shock, reading this.

In Australia, we have free "early intervention programs" from the time a baby is diagnosed with a disability. My mentally handicapped son attended one, and then the kindergarten he went to had extra funding because they had a handicapped child there.

We have free special schools for handicapped kids, with free transport provided, but the parent has the option of sending their child to the local government school, which was what I did when the principal of the special school couldn't do anything about the fact that my son was coming home with fresh bruises each day.

Principals in our system are the problem. The teachers, more often than not, are great, while the principals are often pathetic unprincipled bullies. This one was proud of having made sure there were no handicapped kids at "his" school, and was determined to keep it that way. So despite actually having the right, I only got to exercise it by setting up camp with a sleeping bag and cooker in the principal's office, and notifying the local paper of my little protest.

Once he was actually attending the school, the government paid for an aide for my son, and I was able to change the system in a way that got the support of the teachers and other parents. Before long there were six more handicapped kids attending. They were able to share two aides between them, and the other kids learnt about getting along with kids who were different. Teasing only happened when the first principal caused it. I say "first, as he, and then his adoring successor, did not stay teachers for very long after that.

By the time the third principal started, also anti-integration, the teachers were too much on the side of the special kids for her to spend long trying to get rid of them.

So here I was thinking my little family had a tough time of it, and then you show me how much worse conditions are for handicapped kids in America.

One funny story ...
The school invited a mute person to address the whole school, and didn't realize that there could be a problem. When he arrived they had to find an interpreter, and my son was the only person in the school who knew sign language. (He had been non-verbal when he began school, and learning to sign somehow made him able to speak.) So this little kid, with an IQ of about 60, had to stand on the stage with a microphone, and shyly translate everything in his sweet little voice. And he did it beautifully.

[DeepModem Mom]

6. Great story -- and thanks for sharing your experience! nt

[Corgigal]

8. I know about what you're speaking of

My son was selected for early intervention program as a four year old. When he entered kindergarten he did not receive any other programs but speech. Why? It's a state law that the school system doesn't have to help until they reach age 6. In turn he failed 1st grade because he turned 6 in May. My jaw hit the floor while I was researching that.

He's better now because we have a federal Advocate with us. He attends every IEP meeting and is part of our family now for 5 years. People check your states for these advocates. No one in the school district ever told us they existed. It was our friend who happened to be a judge who told us about this service. It's free and the difference it makes when you approach the school with a problem.

[Kailassa]

11. My children are adults now, but thanks for your advice.

I had 2 advocates.
The first was caring and brilliant, but worked for the education department, and was threatened with the sack if he continued to be an advocate for me.
The second was a brainless hippie who agreed with everything any principal said, even leaving every meeting the moment he told her to. Principal no.2 (Peter) organized a meeting for all the staff and myself, outnumbering me terribly and expecting the staff to back him. And then told Gillie to leave and she calmly went home. Even the invited school psychologist was horrified, as this meeting was illegal and the intent was clear, and took me aside and said I should refuse to attend it. But I'm a believer in fate being a horse you can learn to ride. So when the Peter opened the meeting by reading a question, "for how much longer can the school tolerate the presence of children with learning difficulties?", I sat beside him and acted as a secretary, rephrasing his question and getting opinions from all the teachers.

The teachers were horrified too then, and all got together constructing the basis for programs, not only for my children, but for all the handicapped kids at the school.

After that I did without an advocate, by then I knew the people and knew the system.

A week later I was at the school, walking up a corridor with a group of teachers, and Peter stopped in front of me and, clicking his heels sharply, and saluted me. I'm tall and can look imposing, so I merely nodded to him and kept walking with the teachers, discussing something with them. That was the last straw; he lost all respect from his staff, and every time he gave an order he would be saluted and ignored. He resigned a few weeks later, still shy of 40, and put everything into an uninsured business which promptly burned down. He had seriously upset so many parents, the police told me, that they had over 100 suspects to interview. ;-)

[Corgigal]

12. interesting

I guess we got lucky then. He is an old type hippie but he calls his kids.."his kids". He even helps me with my teenage daughter who's a pain due to being a teenaged daughter. (Ha) I always thought it was wonderful to have someone who knew all the laws like the back of his hand. He even tells us if you don't agree you can always sue and tells us with lawyers to contact.

I guess you had to see how they would blow off my husband and myself when our child needed something. It's not perfect now but I feel at least we have a chance if Eric needs something.
I don't think we could survive this school district without him. To let you know which school district I'm in, remember the high school a few years that pulled guns on students? They also taped the whole thing and also had German Shepherds used on the kids to scare them. That is my local High School. God save these kids.

[Kailassa]

13. It's great that you found someone good to give

support and advice.

I know all about the blowing off. I was a single mother with 3 kids, each with a different surname, and you should have seen how the principals tried using that against me. And, at first, the Education department was not at all co-operative. They didn't believe a single mother could stand up to them, especially once they removed my support people.

I even had bunches of fathers visiting me at night and making terrible threats to frighten me out of sending my kids to "their" school. I took the risk of inviting them all in, giving them coffee and cake, and discussing the situation with them. Luckily I talked them around, and they didn't come back.

At least the struggle left me well equipped to fight the next few battles I had with the government. ;-)

[MichiganVote]

7. This has been in the works for a long time. What they don't tell you

is that NCLB enacts penalties on school districts who certify kids for special education services past a certain amount per district student population. Nor do they specify how or what methods to utilize to establish a learning disability beyond the discrepency model.

In addition, they also do not specify what continues to disqualify students from special ed. services, meaning---nothing has really changed folks.