- Bob and Jane, an average couple living in Queens, go to their zoned public elementary school in order to enroll their five year old son, Harry, in kindergarten. He has special education needs, and is referred for a 12.1.1 class in his community school district on his Individualized Educational Plan, or IEP. Upon arrival, Bob and Jane are told by an Assistant Principal that the elementary school 'does not offer self contained classes', and their son would either have to be placed in an Integrated Co-Teaching Class with 30 students and two teachers, one general education and one special education.
- Joe is 10 years old and has been attending PS 123 in Brooklyn for elementary school. He is in the 4th grade, in an ICT class of 28 students and two teachers. Over the past several months, his behavior has gotten worse. The IEP team, comprised of his teachers, a school psychologist and parents, sit down to meet and discuss options. The team is recommending a 12.1.1 class in District 75, the self contained school district for special education students in NYC. Dad asks why he can't be in a smaller class and stay at PS 123, and the team tells him that PS 123 is fully inclusive, does not offer self-contained classes, and Joe would have to attend a different school.
- Mary is 9 and is diagnosed with Autism. She has an IQ in the 'superior' range. Her family recently moved from Florida to Staten Island, and her parents are trying to enroll her in third grade. She was in a general education class in Florida with a 1:1 paraprofessional. The Principal tells her parents that the teachers in the school are not 'specialized in Autism' and that they should enroll her in one of the DOE specialized programs for Autism such as ASD/NEST, Horizons or District 75. When dad protests, saying that Mary has always been successful in a regular class, the Principal gets angry and snaps, "We are a general education school, sir. We don't have the ability to create a special Autism program for your daughter and neglect our other 400 plus students".
Not making sense? It shouldn't be...
Perhaps you have heard the slogan, "Special education is a service, not a place."
Perhaps you have read an article about how self contained classrooms have become the 'dumping ground' for challenging students the schools want to get rid of.
Perhaps you have watched a news story exposing the disproportionate amount of black boys being diagnosed as 'Emotionally Disturbed' and/or 'Learning Disabled.'
Or, how self-contained classrooms fuel the 'school to prison' pipeline by segregating students with behavior problems, restricting their access to their general education peers that serve as models of pro-active behavior, and result in these students only getting worse.
Special education advocates have fought long and hard for students to be included in general education to the greatest extent possible and receive their services in the least restrictive environment. The reforms enacted by the DOE mandate that all students, regardless of disability classification, program recommendation, services mandated and/or supports required, should attend their local community school with their neighborhood peers.
Sounds great, right? What on earth has been happening since 2012?
Why are schools eliminating all self-contained classes?
Or forcing parents to choose between an Integrated Co-Teaching/ICT class of 30 students, or being shipped off to District 75 for a 12.1.1 program even if their child does not display severe and profound disabilities?
Why are school principals making the decision to only offer certain special education programs and refuse others, and how are they being allowed to get away with this?
And, if the 'Continuum of Services for Special Education' clearly states that self-contained classes (15:1 and 12:1) are the least restrictive option for students and should be considered before making a referral for a self-contained class in a specialized school district, why are IEP teams ignoring this left and right?
Find out soon-NYC DOE Special Education Reform-Part II
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