Overview of the case:
The Supreme Court gave the parents in the Oregon case the right to sue the school district for the cost of their son’s private education. This case involves a child who was having attention problems and his parents weren’t satisfied with the schools decision regarding his education. Therefore they pulled their child out and put him in a private school where they felt he would receive a better education and the proper services he needed to be successful in school.
Opinion:
This is a difficult situation and I can see it being a problem that will continue to grow as more and more students become diagnosed with ADHD. It is so hard for me to say if I agree with the decision or not! This case has several factors and items to consider. I am going to say I don’t agree with the parents suing the school district. I feel that they could have made a better effort to work with the school district before pulling the child out. Also, they could have tried to research some outside sources to help their child cope and manage the disorder. Even after they decided they were going to pull them out they have tried to find a more affordable private school to send their child to.
I understand that the parents thought they were doing the best thing for their child but sometimes we have to try several different solutions before we find the correct answer to problems. I think this may cause a trend with parents and students being if they don’t like how things are going you automatically flee without trying to solve the problem. I think that once you have tried to work out the problem at hand and it is not getting at better than you need to take the next steps to correct the problem in a different way. ADHD is a touchy disorder and from what I have heard from being in the schools is it is hard to diagnose and many doctors don’t like to diagnose the disorder. I think schools and parents need to team up and work together to make sure students receive the best possible education!
Works Cited:
Abramson, Larry. "Justices Rule For Parents Of Special Ed Student." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105797012>.
Manning, Robb. "OPB News · Supreme Court Backs Family In Forest Grove Special Ed Case." OPB News · News for Oregon and Southwest Washington. 23 June 2009. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. <http://news.opb.org/article/5276-supreme-court-backs-family-forest-grove-special-ed-case/>.
"NPR Media Player." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=105797012&m=105796997>.
"Supreme Court Takes Up Special Ed Case - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Associated Press. Web. 17 Oct. 2010. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/28/national/main4974835.shtml>.
I completely agree with you Andrea that this is a tough case and I do not think that the parents should have sued the school. I do think that we need more information... Why didn't the parents have TA tested again, since it had been 2 years since the previous testing? Were the assessment scores invalid? I could not find this information. If these steps would have been taken, then I could see more reason to sue.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the parents and teachers need to work as a team. Some of these issues could have been resolved if they had talked beforehand. Sad for all involved- especially TA.
Devil's Advocate speaking (A Hypothetical Parent):
ReplyDeleteIf I remember correctly, this started in 2003, so did they not have enough time to cooperate with the school district or the school district cooperate with the family? Did the school district not run enough tests of assistance? Couldn't the school have done some research, they are the service providers for the community they serve? Maybe, they wanted to send their child to the best private school in the area and money wasn't an obstacle.
As an administrator, how would you handle this line of questioning and thought?
I do believe that the school district could have done further research and provided multiple options for the student and parent. It goes back to were the school and parents communicating and working together to find possible solutions to the problem? I can only hope the school did their part in the testing and providing the proper resources. As an administrator I would try to do everything I could to help accommodate the chid and their disability.
ReplyDeleteIn my most recent post my administrator was just sharing how she felt it was a challenge to provide the support to a child when the parents aren't willing to work with the school. She tries to find as many resources she can to help the child.
I can see this being a problem that as future administrators we will have to face. I hope we will take the necessary steps to possibly avoid lawsuits. It will be hard because we cant please everybody!
Andrea, I have to agree with the Supreme Court and I feel if the school district had simply provided this child with basic interventions and a 504 plan to meet his needs we would not have been reading about this case this week. All children deserve a free and appropriate public education and from what information I could find it sounds like he did not receive that.
ReplyDeleteNow, it does concern me to read that some of his diagnosis came after he was already enrolled in the private school. Curious!