Term Paper on "Beth B.V. Lake Bluff School District 65"

Term Paper 8 pages (2541 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Beth B. v. Lake Bluff School District 65

This was an action brought by the parents of Beth B., who we will refer to as the Student, on behalf of their daughter. The Student has Rett Syndrome, which apparently affects only female children. Rett is a form of autistic disorder that leads to severe disabilities in the areas of motor functioning, communication and cognition. The Student is twelve years old and confined to a wheelchair. She cannot speak, but communicates through the use of computer assistive technology which gives her choices in the form of pictures that she chooses through focusing her eye gaze. She is also able to activate a switch with her hands to make her choices. The Student also has scoliosis and wears a back brace.

The Students parents, private therapists and educators all agree that her motor skills are within the range of five to seven months. A major controversy in this case involves the areas of communication and cognitive skills. The educators estimate her abilities to be at twelve to twenty months, but her parents and therapists estimate them to be much higher. One of her therapists, in fact, estimates her abilities here to be close to a four to six-year-old. Because of the Student's disabilities, it is not feasible to administer standardized tests to determine her communication and cognitive levels.

At the age of two, in 1990, the Student began to receive educational services from the North Suburban Special Education District, also known as the Co-op, to which the School District belongs. The Student participated in the program using a one-on-one aide, and also received physical, occupational and speech therapy. At the parents urging, the School District agreed to place the Student in regular kindergarten, first and second grade. During the second grade, the Co-op added the services of an inclusion facilitator.

In 1997, the School District indicated to the Parents that they thought the Student would be better served by placement in an Educational Life Skills (ELS) program. The parents disagreed, wanting her to remain in a regular education classroom. Unable to resolve the dispute, the case was referred to a Hearing Officer, who in August 1997 issued a ruling ordering the Student's placement should remain as it was, a stay-put determination. The School District interpreted this to mean keeping the Student in the second grade, which the parents disputed. The Hearing Officer upheld the position of the Parents and the Student will soon complete her fifth grade.

The Parents are requesting that the current Hearing Officer find that the School District failed to provide adequate training or support for the Student and the Staff working with her, and that they failed to properly monitor the Student's progress in order to allow accurate judgments concerning her progress. Key to the action is the request that the Hearing Officer find that the regular education Junior High School the Student would attend, if not placed in the ELS program, is the least restrictive environment (LRE) for the Student. The Parents maintain the ELS program is overly restrictive, has a peer group and teaching methods that are not appropriate for the Student, and would also require a physically demanding bus ride of 30-45 minutes for the Student, each way.

The relief requested by the Parents include orders that:

The Student be placed in a regular education classroom at the Junior High level exceeding 50% of the school day;

mutually agreed upon inclusion facilitator and case manager be appointed for the Student;

Intensive in-service training be provided at the School District's expense to the staff assigned to work with the Student;

Require development of a plan for delivery of related services minimizing disruption of Student's participation in regular classes;

Allow the Student to meet with teachers prior to start of school year;

Require that the Parents and Parent's therapists be given adequate opportunity to observe the Student in classroom setting;

Require that the Parents be reimbursed for the costs of private evaluations by Parents expert witnesses; and costs of services of independent clinicians;

The School District's expert consultant no longer be allowed to be involved in the Student's educational program.

Decision of the Hearing Officer

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was most recently amended in 1997, and requires that schools provide necessary learning aids, testing modifications and other educational accommodations to children with learning disabilities. Children whose learning is hampered by physical or other psychological disabilities, may qualify for similar accommodations under another piece of legislation known as Section 504. Under this act, a child is entitled to a free appropriate public education (FAPE), which is an individualized educational program that is designed to meet the child's unique needs and from which the child receives an educational benefit. All qualified persons with disabilities within the jurisdiction of a school district are entitled to a free appropriate public education. The regulation defines a person with a disability as any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. For elementary and secondary education programs, a qualified person with a disability is a person with a disability who is of an age during which it is mandatory under state law to provide such services to persons with disabilities, of an age during which persons without disabilities are provided such services, or a person for whom the state is required to provide a free appropriate public education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In general, all school age children who have disabilities are entitled to FAPE.

In 1982, the United States Supreme Court in the case of Board of Education of the Hendrick Hudson School District v. Rowley, set up a two part test for a court to determine whether a school district has met the requirements of the IDEA to provide a special needs student a "free appropriate public education" in any given case. First, the school district must comply with the procedures set forth in the act and second, the educational program developed through these procedures must be reasonably calculated to enable the child to receive educational benefit. Regarding what constitutes "educational benefit," the Court decided that Congress did not impose any greater standard "than would be necessary to make such access meaningful." The intent of the IDEA was to provide equal access to public education by opening the door to handicapped students, rather than guaranteeing to produce any particular outcome.

An appropriate education may be defined in different ways. It could consist of education in regular classes, education in regular classes with the use of supplementary services, or special education and related services in separate classrooms for all or portions of the school day. Special education may include specially designed instruction in classrooms, at home, or in private or public institutions, and may be accompanied by such related services as speech therapy, occupational and physical therapy, and psychological counseling and medical diagnostic services necessary to the child's education.

To be appropriate, educational programs for students with disabilities must be designed to meet their individual needs to the same extent that the needs of non-disabled students are met. An appropriate education may include regular or special education and related aids and services to accommodate the unique needs of individuals with disabilities.

One way for ensuring that programs meet individual needs is the development of an individualized education program for each student with a disability. IEPs are required for students participating in special education programs of recipients of funding under the IDEA.

The quality of educational services provided to students with disabilities must equal that provided to non-disabled students. For example, teachers of students with disabilities must meet standards for certification as high as those teachers of non-disabled students. Facilities must be comparable and appropriate materials and equipment must be available.

Students with disabilities may not be excluded from participating in nonacademic services and extracurricular activities on the basis of disability. Persons with disabilities must be provided an opportunity to participate in nonacademic services that are equal to that provided to persons without disabilities. These services may include physical education and recreational athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the school, referrals to agencies that provide assistance to persons with disabilities and employment of students.

After reviewing the evidence and testimony, the Hearing Officer ruled that the School District had offered the Student an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment as required under the IDEA. He made clear that applying Rowley to this action, meant that the School District was not required to provide an appropriate public education that would make it possible for a student with disabilities to achieve the level of progress that would have been possible had it not been for the disability. It did not need to meet the higher standard, but needed only to provide an education from which the… READ MORE

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