Special Education Law Blog

"Independence versus Education" At Issue in Service Dog Case

An IEP team in Michigan rejected the request of a young student with CP to bring her service dog to school, stating that the services of an aide were sufficient to meet her needs. The ACLU has undertaken litigation on behalf of the student.   An aide is fine in many circumstances, however, where the student can be more independent with the help of a dog instead of a person, the choice seems obvious. I always advocate for the view that, even for small children the future is now, and if she can achieve a high degree of independence now and going forward with a dog, that will be much more effective for her on a job or in college than reliance on an aide.

It appears that service dog cases are one of the new legal frontiers in special education law, as there have been so many cases that have been litigated recently and apparently more to come. Some states such as New Jersey are taking legislative steps to guarantee the right to bring service dogs into schools.

LRE Run Amok In Evanston Illinois

I am a strong proponent of inclusion and that students should being educated in the least restrictive environment ("LRE"). LRE is a central pillar of IDEA. Nevertheless it needs to considered in the context of the individualized needs of the child and most importantly what is appropriate for the student. In fact the law in Illinois is that the first line of inquiry in making placement decisions is first decisions on appropriateness and then and only after that determination considerations of LRE.

Districts tend to argue LRE when it suits their end goal, or FAPE when that works best for them, even though they are not legally interchangeable. In the Beth B. case the 7th Circuit ruled that it made no sense to place a child in an inappropriate LRE. 

Evanston School District #65 is closing Park School that has been open for many years and serves students with severe needs, many of whom have not been successful in other less restrictive settings. The ostensible justification for the closing of Park School is in the name of LRE without any consideration for the individual needs of the students or the appropriateness of more inclusion for these students.

Sign Language Used In Good Classroom Management

IDEIA requires schools to implement Universal Design in the classroom. Nevertheless, Universal Design is not well defined or widely implemented. CAST, a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to promoting Universal Design for Learning ["UDL"] defines it as "[e]mbedded features that help those with disabilities eventually benefit everyone. UDL uses technology's power and flexibility to make education more inclusive and effective for all." Some obvious examples are curb cuts (usable for baby strollers and wheelchairs) and closed captioning which can support literacy and those with hearing impairments.

In some schools around the Washington D.C. area teachers are using signed letters and words to better manage their classes. Students flash a signed letter to the teacher such as "B" for bathroom or "L" for library and the teacher responds with a sign or other gesture, which allows him or her to go on with the lesson without interruption.

Perhaps without even realizing it, these teachers are using UDL for more effective classroom management. Special education methods when used creatively in the classroom can benefit all students and the teacher. Similarly, I have effectively advocated for a visual behavior system that was aimed at a student with autism, also proved highly effective for the entire the class without stigmatizing the "target student." It is nice to see a school that views all students as part of one common community of learners, where methods from special education seamlessly cross-over to the entire class. It might even be fun to see teachers flashing signs like a third base coach down the road, so long as they do not flash the universal sign to throw a student out of the class (game).

Ultimate Guide To Special Needs Teaching

The following blog has brought to together a very nicely organized set of resources in clearly defined categories as a resource for teachers. As we all know, frequently parents are the ultimate resource for teachers, so share these links liberally with your child's new teacher. If he or she is an open kind of person these resources will be well received and hopefully will help support your child in an appropriate LRE.

Co-Teaching an Effective Strategy to Support Inclusion

After three decades of IDEA being the law, in one form or another, the benefits of inclusion should be well known and understood by all. Unfortunately, that is just not the case, and the benefits of educating children in a LRE seem to be brand new to many. Here is an article from Barbara Glaeser, a thoughtful teacher in Washington D.C. (not an easy place to be a teacher), extolling the virtues of co-teaching to support inclusion for students with disabilities. Her presentation material includes school-based data that demonstrates the profound effects of inclusion on student achievement. Download Co-teaching_presentation.pdf. With lots more teachers like Ms. Glaeser perhaps the significant benefits of inclusion for all  stake holders in schools will be accepted as a matter of course, and not as a point of ongoing controversy.

New Jersey Plaintiffs Win Major LRE Court Battle

The Federal District Court in New Jersey this week ruled that a major suit can go forward against the New Jersey Department of Education. The suit is premised on allegations that New Jersey has systemically excluded special needs students from being educated in inclusive settings. As reported:

"The complaint charges that the defendants violated both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by systemically placing students with disabilities in segregated, disabled-only classrooms. For years, New Jersey has had the worst record in the nation in complying with the IDEA and Section 504 mandates to educate students with disabilities in the "least restrictive environment," alongside their non-disabled peers."

Score one for the good guys! We need a whole lot more like this case to make a real dent but it is a nice start in big state.

Off Beat Teaching Resources on the Web

I represent lots of students who have difficulties with things like slang and parents who need a ready reference on history and other academic topics. The following post comes to me from Fiona King with references that you might not find any where else. Some of the references are strange and some just funny like translating a whole website into Elmer Fudd speak. . The author Laura Milligan states:

"Beyond Google, Wikipedia and other generic reference sites, the Internet boasts a multitude of search engines, dictionaries, reference desks and databases that have organized and archived information for quick and easy searches. In this list, we’ve compiled just 100 of our favorites, for teachers, students, hypochondriacs, procrastinators, bookworms, sports nuts and more."

Some of these may be just the ticket as you are looking to develop goals and and helping your student understand the differences between the first and second Punic Wars.

Sex Ed is About Safety By Amanda Windom

One of the most controversial topics we face in schools today is sex education.  Schools in Illinois vary greatly in the curriculum they offer ranging from none at all to abstinence-only to comprehensive sex education. Putting aside the moral, religious and other debates, the main issue here is safety.  Regardless of our personal feelings about the topic the fact remains that children and teens must be educated about sex in a meaningful way, and if they are not educated at school or by parents they will develop ideas based on things they learn from friends or in the media, often to their detriment.

Children and adolescents with disabilities are often left out when it comes to sex education, although they are at a higher risk for sexual abuse than their typically developing peers.  Statistics show that children with developmental disabilities are 4-10 times more likely to be victims of sexual abuse. Also rates of STDs are high among young adults with disabilities. So why aren't children who have disabilities receiving meaningful sex education?

Aside from the fact that sex education is a constant item of debate in the standard curriculum, there are many reasons.  People who are disabled are often seen as uninterested or incapable of sexual activity, or on the other hand they are seen as sexually deviant.   Regardless of common stereotypes all people need to be educated on this vital topic, that can have mortal and significant health consequences.

A Survival Guide to High School for Students with (and Without) Disabilities By David A. Kuriniec [Part 2]

Below is the second part of the essay and observations by David Kuriniec, who is a young adult with a disability who attends a 4 year University.

A Survival Guide to High School for Students with (and Without) Disabilities By David A. Kuriniec [Part 1]

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken,” 1916, lines 18-20

I am a young adult with a disability. I atttend a 4 year university and have an enoromous amount of experience to share regarding survival both in High School and in life. At six months old, I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy ("CP").   The only limitations resulting from my CP are physical.  Nevertheless, those limitations required the district to provide an aide whose tasks were to take notes and assist in any other essential daily functions.  With the role of the aide came the immediate suspicion on the part of my peers that he or she was the one completing assignments and not me.  I was, despite the aforementioned fact, the talk of the town; you see, I had a motorized scooter, and everyone’s day was made if he or she had a ride on its back at recess.  But as junior high school came, cliques began to form; in other words, students realized that I was different and began leaving me out of activities and sometimes acted as if my existence was not a reality.  That forced me to ask the painful question: “why me?”  Suicide did cross my mind.  But I hung on and found other pursuits, mainly intellectual in nature, to keep my mind stimulated and numb the emotional pain.

Things changed as I entered high school.  In the first semester, because I had a love for baseball, (and still do—Let’s go White Sox!) I wanted to be a sports broadcaster; a position in that arena would allow me to travel the country and experience the game I love.  But then, I sat at home one day and watched ESPN; on the screen, the anchor was detailing the Supreme Court’s holding in PGA Tour Inc v. Martin 532 U.S. 661 (2001).  This case helped to spur my passion for advocacy and catapulted my life in a truly unexpected direction.  It was after hearing about the case that I wrote Congressman Mark Kirk, who has since been a great ally and voice in Congress, supporting initiatives that help to make society more open and accessible to people with disabilities.  But a full explanation of my activism is beyond the scope of this piece; what is important here is that socialization became even harder in high school, because students who I believed were my friends ostracized me because they thought that what I was doing was “gay.”  I realized, after quite a bit of deep thought, that their ad hominem attacks were immature and that they did not truly comprehend the reasons for my actions or its positive impact on the community.

It was because of my struggles and challenges in high school that I began to consider at length the concept of inclusion. I had first considered inclusion in an article I had begun writing for a journalism class. In that class I had detailed the experiences and opinions relative to inclusion of two other students with disabilities and various teachers at school.  Following the completion of the article, I sat down and thought about all the things teachers had done over the course of my entire educational career to ensure that I was truly included.  As I examined the list, I realized that my inclusion was successful because I too had done everything discussed below.  So, without further introduction, here is the list, supplemented with short anecdotes and/or supporting arguments. Students should: