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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Friday, June 26, 2009 10:20 PM CDT
LETTER: Article didn't tell full
special needs story

CATE BORZI, Charleston

I was appalled by the slanted coverage by the wire service of the Forest Grove case decided before the Supreme Court.

Yes, students with special needs are allowed to go to a private school without trying out the local school’s special education programs. However, that was not a “shift” of any kind. That was the way most of the country has done things since the special education law was created in 1975. The case before the Supreme Court was flawed and showed why they decided the way they did.

The Forest Grove School District denied this child an IEP repeatedly. They failed to investigate “all areas of disability” as required by law. They decided to skip investigating his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. If they had done so, they would have been required to help him overcome his neurological attention problems to achieve an adequate education. It was cheaper to ignore them and his ongoing failure without that help.

The school district did not offer an IEP that met the kid’s needs until after he was placed by his parents at a private school that did meet his needs. His parents gave the legally required notice of 10 days before placing their son in the private setting.

The case itself explains why the law is set up the way it is. Any school can cut costs in special education by just pretending a student does not need help.

There are schools that do just that without regard for the student by coercing teachers into silence by threatening their jobs. If a school can just pretend and keep a student out of special education programs, how can the kid “try out” the special education programs? The private placement is the only alternative to the problem.

We owe all children a Free and Appropriate Education. It is assumed for kids without special needs.

There were so many schools denying kids with special needs into the schools that over a million children were added to the rolls across the country when it was implemented.

CATE BORZI

Charleston

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kamfong wrote on Jun 27, 2009 7:10 AM:

" I agree that All children deserve quality education,unfortunatly that has been abused throughout the yrs by folks wanting free daycare or a state ran babysetting service,and by the time the monies allocated for special needs children arrive it has been greedily squandered and missapropriated,skimmed so bad there's nothing left for the much needed programs.If this govt would keep their nose out of other countries bussiness,and concentrate on their own, things would probably be moe-betta. "

devilishangel61401 wrote on Jun 27, 2009 7:46 PM:

" Well see this story is diffrent from the one the paper ran so if the school was denying this child the help he/she needed then yes the school is required by law to help pay for the expense of another school. I know that I learned that when my son had his first IEP that if a school district does not have the needed services for the student they have to help pay for the student's needs in another school private or a public school in another district. These children with special needs deserve to have an appropriate education. "

jrhendren wrote on Jun 30, 2009 12:21 AM:

" The problem I have is I do not see ADHD as a disability. I have children with ADHD, and they take medication. Even before the medication they had trouble paying attention, but their grades did not show it. If the classes come to easy for them they have an even harder time concentrating. ADHD is an attention problem, but not a disability. Millions of people have a form of ADHD and you would never know it. Unlike those who have true learning disabilities. If one of my children was disruptive in school to a point where others could not concentrate then it is my responsibility as a parent to take care of my child. If that means seeing about medication, or other ways of controlling their behavior so be it. Most cases of ADHD can be controlled with medication in differing doses. Why if a parent was not willing to try anything else, should someone else pay for that child? I know it sounds mean, but, the parent needs to be held responsible. That is one of the biggest problems with society today. This "it's owed to be" mentality. Now if the state says that ADHD is considered a "learning disability" and the school refuses to take the student then they should pay at least part of the expenses, if not all. Only on the grounds that they refuse, and/or the parent has tried other means besides just wanting to send their child to private school. "

medic57 wrote on Jul 1, 2009 2:05 AM:

" If one of my children was disruptive in school to a point where others could not concentrate then it is my responsibility as a parent to take care of my child. If that means seeing about medication, or other ways of controlling their behavior so be it.

jrhendren

In my day, it was always "The other ways" Usually worked too. "

DONEdone wrote on Jul 1, 2009 3:08 PM:

" im sorry but what people are not considering is if it interests the child, the child is less likely to be distracted. if you dont agree, try talking to them when theyre playing a game or the computer or even watching a program. most of the time you have to turn it off to get the attention you request "

jrhendren wrote on Jul 1, 2009 11:20 PM:

" medic57 wrote on Jul 1, 2009 2:05 AM:
" If one of my children was disruptive in school to a point where others could not concentrate then it is my responsibility as a parent to take care of my child. If that means seeing about medication, or other ways of controlling their behavior so be it.

jrhendren

In my day, it was always "The other ways" Usually worked too. "

Worked for me also. Good old leather medicine. "

just watching wrote on Jul 3, 2009 7:56 AM:

" Be careful applying medical leather,it incites violence,bruising,welting,and could cause one to grow up with a weird fetish. "