An Occasional Rant
(as time permits)
Say What?
There’s no shortage of people whose behavior has us saying, “Just when you think you’ve heard everything! Surely you’re kidding!”
Are we the only ones surprised by articles like these? If a story leaves you scratching your head, send it to us. We may post it and give you credit for the catch.
Wall of Shame
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Texas Education Agency back in the headlines over special education firing 11/25/2017
Wow, the scandals just don’t end in Texas.
The TEA says it fired its new special education director because she didn’t reveal that she had been accused of covering up sexual abuse allegations in a previous job.
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/11/25/spedx-special-education-tea/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-special-education-director-fired-serious-allegations/
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Special-ed student confined 617 times in 6 months despite state laws 11/12/2016
Mother of a 10-year-old with ADHD provided school records showing that her child was put in isolation 148 times over two years. Isolation ranged from 2 min to 3 hrs. No one knows how often this happens because many districts failed to provide data, as required by law.
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What Texas did to its special-education students 09/18/2016
8.5%. 8.5%. 8.5%. In 2015, Texas met it’s goal of 8.5%, down from nearly 13% in 2004. Congrats folks! You did it! Time for a bonus?
In 2004, nearly 13% of Texas students received special ed services. In 2004, Texas education officials decided that only 8.5% of students should get special ed services. TEA audited districts & required them to submit ‘corrective action plans’ about how they would reduce the number of children served. These decisions were never announced or explained to the public – including parents of children with disabilities who desperately tried to get the services their children needed.
Who was hurt? Children with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, epilepsy, mental illnesses, speech impairments, traumatic brain injuries, even blindness and deafness were denied. Who benefited? The Texas Education Agency saved billions.
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ACLU files suit claiming young boy’s rights were violated when he was handcuffed at KC elementary school 09/08/2016
Kalyb was just 7 years old, stood less than 4 feet tall and weighed less than 50 pounds when a Kansas City police officer handcuffed him for crying.
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Lawsuit: Boy With Disabilities Forced To Sign Terrorist Confession 08/19/2016
Family files lawsuit when school officials ignored repeated and severe incidents of bullying from older students and forced their son to confess, under extreme duress, to a terrorist act and crimes he did not commit, and “that he was a member of ISIS, a vile and infamous terrorist organization.”
https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/08/19/suit-disabilities-terrorist/22645/
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Lawsuit: Deputy shackled 2 kids with ADHD 08/04/2015
A Kentucky deputy shackled two children with disabilities as punishment for misbehavior at school. The use of force traumatized the children according to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union this week.
If you have a strong stomach, the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/72vu6nxZX58
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– Hat tip to Grace for this one from 2014. We’ve added it to the Wall.
School Punishes Blind 8-Year-Old By Replacing His Cane With a Pool Noodle 12/18/2014
“Why would you do that?” Dakota’s mother asked Fox. “Why would you take the one thing that he’s supposed to use all the time? That’s his eyes.”
Administrators at a Missouri elementary school punished a blind student for misbehaving on the bus Monday by confiscating his cane and replacing it with a pool noodle so he wouldn’t “fidget.”
http://time.com/3639778/blind-boy-cane-noodle-dakota-nafzinger/
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Virginia school suspends an 11-year-old for one year over a leaf that wasn’t marijuana 03/16/2015
A sixth-grader in the gifted-and-talented program was suspended for one year after an assistant principal found something that looked like a marijuana leaf in his backpack. He’s become withdrawn, depressed, and he suffers from panic attacks. He is worried his life is over and that he will never get into college.
The only problem? The “leaf” found in the student’s backpack wasn’t what authorities thought it was — it tested negative for marijuana three separate times.
The student has returned to school under strict probation, but has to attend a different school, separate from his former friends and peers.
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Boy with Asperger’s syndrome hospitalized after brutal school attack 02/25/2015
In Liberty, MO, a little boy says he was beat up so badly at school that police had to be called. What makes this worse is that the mother tried to warn the school of the student in question a month ago with a letter. She says nothing was done.
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Shaming Students One Wall at a Time. 02/16/2015
The losers in school know who they are at a young age – usually by kindergarten or first grade.
And losers are easy to pick out, because their reading progress, or lack there of, is usually displayed on a bulletin board somewhere in the school for everyone to see.
http://conversationed.com/2015/02/16/shaming-students-one-wall-at-a-time/
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In D.C., a 13-year-old piano prodigy is treated as a truant instead of a star student 09/08/2014
DC Public Schools label Avery Gagliano, a piano prodigy, as a truant for her worldwide performance-related absences.
Yet DCPS touts a wonderful first week of school with too many smiles to count.
“The first day is so much fun, and I want that enthusiasm and that love for school to continue throughout the entire year.”
DCPS stated their goal this year as “a world-class education ….. focusing on educating the whole student, including social and emotional support and ensuring students love school.”
Poor Avery is not loving school this year. Guess common sense is not part of that world-class education.
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Zero tolerance policies run amok 04/22/2013
Teachers can also be victims of “zero tolerance policies” when school admins have too much power and NO common sense. A second-grade teacher was suspended after he displayed garden-variety tools such as wrenches, pliers and screwdrivers in his classroom as part of a “tool discussion” in his class.
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School staff duct-taped girl with Down syndrome to her shoes 02/06/2013
An Indiana family is furious this week after their daughter, who has Down syndrome, came home from school with her shoes duct-taped painfully to her ankles.
Shaylyn Searcy, 8, was in a special needs class at Westlake Elementary School in Indianapolis. When she got home from school on Monday, her parents Nate and Elizabeth Searcy were shocked to see what someone had done to her with duct tape.
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New Caney ISD Says “No” to Walker for a Child with CP 03/30/2012
Two doctors say that 5-year-old LaKay Roberts should continue to use her walker but New Caney ISD ordered her to use a wheelchair. Going from a walker to a wheelchair will reverse years of progress LaKay has made.
LaKay’s mom recorded a conversation with a school official and uploaded the recording to YouTube where it has racked up more than 50,000 views. After the 5 year old fell in the parking lot when walking her mother, a school official insists that it’s not safe for LaKay to use the walker. If her mother wants to fight his decision, she needs to go to court.
**include link to the blog post you plan to write – OR the links below – or both***
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/03/30/school-says-no-to-walker/15284/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BTVNQRkKfY
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Wisconsin DPI staff – Time to read the law! 07/08/2011
A friend of mine called our Department of Public Instruction last week with questions about her son with Dyslexia. DPI stated that Wisconsin nor the Federal Government even consider this word “Dyslexia” to use as a form of disability.
Well my friend and I attended a Wrightslaw Conference last year and learned the Federal Government uses the word “Dyslexia”. Very frustrated with why schools continue not to use “Dyslexia” and they wonder why kids with disabilities get past through the system year after year.
Jeez! Shouldn’t the Wisconsin DPI staff have to read the law and regulations before they are allowed to tell citizens what the law says and doesn’t say? As a person who attended a Wrightslaw Special Ed Law & Advocacy program, you knew the right answer and where to find it!
A state cannot provide fewer rights than the federal law (IDEA).
I went to the Wisconsin DPI site, searched for the legal definition of “Specific Learning Disability” in the Wisconsin statute and regulations. The Wisconsin definition of SLD is identical to the federal definition and DOES include “dyslexia.”
Here is one of several links to the definition of “Specific Learning Disability” on the Wisc DPI site:
http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/sped/pi11_0701.html#ld
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Hmmmmm?
Study: Living Near a Highway May Contribute to Autism Risk 12/17/2010
http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/17/study-living-near-a-highway-may-contribute-to-autism-risk/
which is based on this…
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1002835
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NCLB is now a threat to national security?
5+14+29=48 percent. Nearly 50% of adults are illiterate or possess only the most basis literacy skills. How can you sustain a democracy when nearly half the population is illiterate or barely literate? Isn’t this a national security issue?
Stopping Adult Illiteracy at the Source 05/16/2008
http://ednews.org/articles/25685/1/Stopping-Adult-Illiteracy-at-the-Source/Page1.html
Tom Sticht
Columnist EducationNews.org
In 2003, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy from the U. S. Department of Education indicated that as many as 5 percent of adults over the age of 16 were non-literate in English (that’s 11 million adults), 14 percent (30 million)were below basic in literacy, and another 29 percent (63 million) possessed only basic literacy skills.
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“The Affirmative Action Office of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis…didn’t want to hear the truth. The office ruled that my ‘repeatedly reading the book . . . constitutes racial harassment in that you demonstrated disdain and insensitivity to your co-workers.'”
Read a Book Get Charged with Sexual Harassment 05/13/2008
http://www.newswithviews.com/Duke/selwyn92.htm
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The California Education Dept wants $500,000 so they can “study” why students with disabilities often fail the states exit exam. They can send me the 500K because I know the answer. They haven’t taught the kids what they need to know to pass the $%&^ exam.
State asked to study special-ed exam failures 04/05/2008
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/05/BAVU10094D.DTL&type=education
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This is a great inducement to get kids who aren’t superstars or who “appear ambivalent about their studies” to stop cluttering up the school hallways and drop out sooner, not later. Since it’s impossible to measure “ambivalence,” how will the administrators at this middle school know if a child has “improved.” Will boring, uninspiring teachers be next? Nah.
School’s New Rule for Pupils in Trouble: No Fun 04/04/2008
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My son is in “10th” in a self contain class & his levels are k-1st grade.They are making him take the SC-Alt standardized test in Biology. He has NEVER taken Biology. He is still working on writing words &small sentences(copy), holding a pencil and wiping his butt when he taken a DM…he does NOT know what is a cell?, Difference between a protein,lipid and carbohydrate? It is a joke. He will be saying a-b-c, just guessing or the teacher will be doing it. I just think that is wasted time that can be spent on his IEP goals, academics, personal growth for self-help& job skills. We live in SC and it is a NO opt out state, but there has to be a way to help these students. He doesn’t need this stress and anxiety. It doesn’t show on his IEP where they are teaching the content. UGH!
Kim, this is a sad situation for your son, you, & other families. I suggest contacting your state parent training & information project. They are federally funded to provide information to parents. They should know your options. http://www.parentcenterhub.org/find-your-center
A friend’s HS son was hospitalized & was told that he would receive a medical or health leave on his transcript. She was later told that he could only take courses over the summer to make up the lost classes if he was given an F on his transcript but these would be updated with his work over the summer. The summer grades are on transcript but the school is now saying that they cannot change the F on the transcript. The student has an IEP & it seems that the F should be removed as he has made up the classes he missed with the medical leave.
I suggest that a letter outlining this situation be sent to the special ed director, & possibly up the chain of command, if that has not been done already.
We are dealing with a school district, during the pandemic, that said they would have to make a paper copy of school records before scanning them and sending them to the parent electronically. ?!? (Either the records are already paper copies, or they are already electronic. WTH?!?). They were going to charge her $95 for paper copies they are going to retain! We are waiting for them to direct us to their Board-approved policies regarding special education records. So we said we would bring a scanner and scan them ourselves at no cost. But they have limited office hours during the summer, requiring multiple trips to two different locations to scan 200+ pages. I feel this is wrong, and we will probably file complaints, but I am looking for written guidance, case law, FAQs, etc.
Has anyone tried to change the make-up of their districts board of education? Only 30 percent of voters vote in our districts BOE election, 11% of students are special needs. I am thinking of organizing the special ed parents to support BOE candidates that support special ed. Has anyone done this? Can anybody help me with ideas or tips?
Say “no” to the Common Core Curriculum and standardized testing! It is an agenda put out by corporations to separate the haves from the have nots. Our children in America are being marginalized, sacrificed. If your child is not in the top 10%, then they don’t get a quality education, just like the wealthy top 10% have a quality education but the rest of the middle class and poor America do not. Just an observation and rant!
I noticed the infamous “take-away-blind-childs-cane-and-replace-with-pool-noodle” story was missing from the Wall of Shame. It’s earned its place there.
https://www.wrightslaw.com/blog/?p=12164
This post is offensive to parents. It assumes that parents are not already aware that schools should not be using the excuses noted. Parents are keenly aware of the ridiculous tactics thrown around as diversions. It also characterizes parents as gullible individuals lobbying at their statehouses thinking that’s going to impact their child’s services directly while they neglect to advocate within the constructs of their own child’s IEP. Very, very sad to see professional advocates paint this picture of parents instead of looking to join forces, offer guidance and help get literacy instruction improved in this country. Schools aren’t feeding parents a bill of goods when it comes to the topic of teacher training… we already know our nation’s teachers are woefully prepared to teach reading.
It’s not offensive at all. It’s a valuable, historical view of organizational culture and how the tactics have changed to confuse parents. It’s a revelation!
These don’t paint parents as gullible. It paints districts as ignorant, mean, arrogant….No, it doesn’t help parents make changes, but misery does love company. I am an advocate, and parents tell me all the time I should write a book about all the dumb things schools have said and done. When we hear a story like this, we DO tell parents what their options are and which laws/regs have been violated. Parents tend to believe school district personnel…not because parents are gullible, but because they assume the educational professionals will make decisions that are…well…professional!