| Now, I am all for special education for | | | | schools' cases went to a full hearing - 386 |
| children with disabilities. I attended school | | | | in all. The remaining 90 percent were |
| at a time when such children were either put | | | | resolved through confidential settlements. |
| into "special" schools or thrown in with the | | | | With 700,000 special needs students currently |
| general student population to sink or swim on | | | | in the California schools and already paying |
| their own. It was a terrible inequity. It | | | | hundreds of thousands of dollars each year |
| finally was addressed in the 1970s with a law | | | | for private placements, the school system is |
| designed to correct such discrimination by | | | | headed for a financial crisis. |
| giving these children the civil right to an | | | | |
| equal opportunity to learn. The law covered | | | | In 2004, the California schools received $4.1 |
| children from birth to age 22, guaranteeing | | | | billion for special education from the |
| them the right to a free and "appropriate" | | | | government and local sources. It was still |
| public education. It is the ambiguous word | | | | not enough to pay these extra settlement |
| "appropriate" written into the law that is | | | | costs, and the California schools had to take |
| creating a crisis for the California schools, | | | | $1.6 billion from the regular class budget. |
| according to Nanette Asimov, staff writer for | | | | Twenty-eight percent of the special education |
| the San Francisco Chronicle. | | | | expenditures that year came from the regular |
| | | | education budget. |
| The article cited a situation of one | | | | |
| California schools child with a disability. | | | | California schools educators complain that |
| The assigned public middle school offered | | | | parents who are able to afford an attorney |
| special college prep classes, daily help from | | | | are assured more opportunities for their |
| a special education expert, a laptop | | | | children than those who cannot afford to do |
| computer, extra time for tests, the | | | | so, creating an inequity between the haves |
| opportunity to temporarily leave class if the | | | | and have-nots. Additionally, special |
| child's had an anxiety attack, and a special | | | | education teachers see benefits to special |
| advocate to smooth over any problems with | | | | programs, such as horseback riding therapy, |
| teachers. | | | | but acknowledge that such parent demands are |
| | | | not education related. California schools |
| The parents hired a special consultant | | | | parents and educators are at odds. |
| instead, who found alternative schooling | | | | |
| opportunities - all were private schools and | | | | Parents are making tuition payment demands of |
| all were out-of-state. They settled on a | | | | the California schools for such programs as |
| boarding school in Maine, outside the main | | | | private day schools, boarding schools, summer |
| city, that had one-tenth of the enrollment of | | | | camps, horseback riding therapy, and aqua |
| the California schools. The one thing this | | | | therapy. Additionally, the California schools |
| school did not offer was a special education | | | | are expected to pay for computers, airfare, |
| program. The mother said that smaller | | | | car rental, hotel stays, meals, new clothing |
| classrooms and a smaller campus were more | | | | and tailoring for the children, cell phone |
| important than a special education program. | | | | calls, stamps, gas and tolls, and future |
| Since the possibility of anxiety attacks was | | | | round-trip visits from time of enrollment |
| mentioned in the article, no one can truly | | | | until the children graduate from high school. |
| judge the merit of this situation except the | | | | |
| child's physician and/or psychologist. | | | | In all, the California schools are paying |
| | | | billions of dollars each year for private |
| After the child was placed into the private | | | | placements and auxiliary costs. It is |
| school, the parents then hired an attorney, | | | | creating an inequity for children the civil |
| who specializes in special education cases, | | | | rights law was passed to protect and a |
| to file papers with the court demanding the | | | | financial crisis for the California schools. |
| California schools pay four years of tuition | | | | |
| and family travel costs between California | | | | I have to admit that I wanted every |
| and Maine. Tuition was $30,000 annually. The | | | | opportunity possible for my child to live a |
| California schools met the demands. | | | | happy and normal adult life. I had a special |
| | | | needs child and spent many hours sitting in |
| This is only one such case in the California | | | | principals' offices and at the school board |
| schools, which may or may not have been | | | | demanding that his needs be met. I was |
| justified. The problem is that it is not the | | | | thankful that he received access to the |
| only case. In 2005, there were 3,763 | | | | available offerings within the public school |
| California schools children with disabilities | | | | system. |
| that were the focus of formal complaints - | | | | |
| the vast majority of which came from parents. | | | | In my view, however, it is not a question of |
| This is triple the number of only ten years | | | | right or wrong, justified expenditure or not. |
| ago, and the numbers are growing. | | | | It is a question of the legislators going |
| | | | back and specifically defining the word |
| With a cost of almost $40,000 to go to a | | | | "appropriate". Until then, the California |
| court hearing and the possibility of an | | | | schools are borrowing from Peter to pay Paul, |
| expensive judgment, the California schools | | | | which means less opportunities all the way |
| attempt to settle cases before they get that | | | | around. |
| far. In 2005, ten percent of the California | | | | |