“I don’t know why a player wanna hate T. I didn’t choose the game. The game chose me.”
- Ice T
In case you’re new around here, there’s a game being played in Texas schools called the educational diagnosis.
If your child has a diagnosis of something (autism, for example) the school will not necessarily accept that diagnosis. If the diagnosis is not accepted and a label of autism is necessary to get the child the educational supports needed to achieve an appropriate education, you suddenly have a big problem. The kid is falling apart, the kid is being punished by the school for falling apart (despite the fact that the inappropriate setting forced on the child is the cause of the behaviors), and the parents have no power to do anything except sue or leave.
But wait!
Doesn’t the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act provide for an independent evaluation?
And wait!
Doesn’t the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act also state that the school must fund the independent evaluation, and the only way out of it is to file due process on the child?
That is correct! The IDEA anticipates this as one of many barriers to the achievement of FAPE, and the IEE was added as a protection for families.
What happens, though, when a district uses this portion of the IDEA, which was designed to protect families, in another way with a different intent? In a way that intends to intimidate and harm families?
What if your child’s school refuses to accept a medical diagnosis and you request an independent evaluation funded by the school – and the school sues your kid?
I know this sounds crazy. Welcome to special education in Texas. Many people are afraid to request an independent evaluation because of this sort of trick.
What happens if your school agrees to fund the independent evaluation, the results come back with the same diagnosis, and the school still refuses to accept the diagnosis?
What do you do when your child is suffering and the school dares you to sue or leave?
The medical vs educational diagnosis game is a huge issue. If schools don’t accept that the child is eligible for special education services in the first place, then no other ideas for improving special education will help that child/family.
As things stand now, even when schools do accept the diagnosis, kids are still SOL if a school decides to play hardball and ignore the law. Under the present system , the diagnosis means squat, except built-in excuses to marginalize.
When my child was suffering at the hands of our school district, my child’s pediatrician wrote to the school and explained that he could not attend until an appropriate plan was in place. When I kept him home for his own safety (while I tried to work with the school) the school district threatened to file criminal truancy charges against me unless I returned him immediately. He wasn’t safe there and the school knew it.
They also knew that as good parents, we would not allow our child to be in harm’s way. Therefore, we were forced to withdraw him from public school. It is clear that this was the intended goal of the school district and its very aggressive private attorneys. This is happening to countless children and families across Texas.
Yes, school districts intentionally run children out of public school and due process is actually used as a weapon against children and parents. The private attorneys and districts are on the same team and their game against our children is funded with our tax dollars.
By: Scam is right. on November 30, 2008
at 2:40 am
This isn’t Texas finding innovative ways to discriminate against disabled children. It’s a problem in other states, as well, and you know how people talk. The difference is that it’s being addressed firmly in other states.
From the 2007 Missouri Blue Ribbon Panel on Autism:
Eligibility: All public education programs for special education students
contain eligibility criteria. IDEA Part B allows school districts to determine
eligibility of students for services. Although students may already have
received a formal medical diagnosis of ASD, some districts insist on
performing their own assessment to determine eligibility for services, which is often labeled an “educational diagnosis.” Some parents and providers
testified that they view the educational diagnosis as a bureaucratic method for the school district to deny services to some children.
By: Unworthy Bum on November 30, 2008
at 3:38 pm