Increasing Challenges to Special Education

BORDENTOWN, Pa. -- The concept of including special education students in regular classes spans many disabilities and several schools of thought.
The goals are noble, if challenging: to leave behind old stereotypes, to meet federal No Child Left Behind targets, and to markedly enhance a special needs child's educational experience.
For special education leaders like Louise Sullivan, director of special services for the Bordentown Regional School District, making a difference in a disabled child's life is a never-ending quest, filled with heartwarming stories and fraught with cold, bottom-line numbers.

Leave No Child Behind

PASADENA, Calif. -- On the evening of June 6, Tony and Mary Brandenburg convened with friends and fellow parents in front of the University Club of Pasadena. In just one hour, Pasadena Unified School District officials, parents and teachers would start arriving for an awards ceremony intended to honor the efforts of those who work on behalf of more than 2,200 students in the district's special education programs.
But the Brandenburgs weren't there to celebrate — they were there to protest.
Members of their small group assembled around a pickup parked in front of the club entrance and festooned with posters reading: Inclusion means everyone. Bullying is not OK.
The parents'claim? Their 8-year-old son, whose name they asked be withheld, was bullied out of his second-grade class at Sierra Madre Elementary School by classmates and their parents, the latter of whom, they report, held meetings off campus to discuss his removal. His crime? Unruly behavior brought on by autism.

Age-Old Problem, Perpetually Absent Solution: Fitting Special Education to Students' Needs

As we gear up for the start of the school year, here is an interesting piece from Jay Mathews, an education reporter for The Washington Post. His assessment of the entire special education experience seems totally on target. Why do schools insist that a child fits into their program? Shouldn't the program be altered to fit the child's unique needs?

Miguel Landeros is a lanky, well-spoken 12-year-old about to begin seventh grade in Stafford County. He is severely learning disabled, with reading, writing and math skill levels at least two years below his peers, and needs special teaching, according to a licensed clinical psychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore and other specialists.
Last February, Stafford officials refused to accept that evaluation and left him in regular classes. He performed poorly, failing all core subjects. Recently, they promised to give him more specialized services, but not the ones the experts who examined him say he needs.