'Another obstacle on poor parents and children'

From the op-ed Special-education failures run deep in yesterday's Baltimore Sun, regarding the recent Supreme Court decision Schaffer v. Weast (see earlier diary entry and comments):

I don't share the general celebratory mood. If school board members in Maryland and elsewhere understood more about the roots of the nationwide failure of special education, I don't think they would, either.

The op-ed's author, Kalman R. Hettleman,  is a member of the Baltimore City school board. He continues,

Having served as a pro bono attorney for many parents and children in special-education cases, I know firsthand that the court's decision will impose another obstacle on parents and children, especially those who are low income....

Federal and state law provides theoretical safeguards for parents: the right to participate in meetings at which plans are determined, to examine records and to seek mediation or appeals. But these rights are often meaningless in practice.

It is no secret that school systems across the country fail to provide many students with disabilities with the quality of instruction supposedly guaranteed under federal and state laws. The abysmally low test scores of students with disabilities attest to this.

•  When they cut disability programs,

  they've already long ago cut Gifted programs--thsoe are the first to go, because the assumption is really bright kids s will do OK withotu them.

  LOTS of CHilldren LEft Behindf in all I.Q. brackets.

  by irishwitch on Sat Nov 19, 2005 at 02:49:30 PM PDT