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half. A document obtained by The
Huffington Post shows that the
district is offering incentives to
public and charter school administrators who keep special education students under their roofs.
But in a positive sign for special
education students in D.C., the
most recent results on the National Assessment of Educational
Progress found that students with
disabilities increased their scores
by nine points in fourth grade
reading and eighth grade reading
and math, and by three points in
fourth grade reading.
The district declined to discuss Max’s case, citing privacy
and pending litigation. It asserts
the switch from private to public schools assuages a civil rights
concern, because students with
disabilities can stay in regular
public schools where they can be
included and not segregated. “Federal law requires that local education agencies evaluate every child
at least once a year to determine
whether or not they are in the least
restrictive environment possible,”
Dr. Nathaniel Beers, a pediatrician
who oversees special education for
DCPS, told HuffPost. “Is there a
kid in a self-contained classroom
who doesn’t need to be? Is this
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a kid who is in a more restrictive
setting, like one of our self-contained school buildings?”
But many special needs advocates suspect it’s an attempt to
save money. For years, a court
injunction compelled D.C. to place
more special education students
with even low or moderate disabilities in private placement.
At age 6, they believe
that his window for learning
how to learn is closing.
Consequently, private school tuition ate significantly into the
city’s school budget.
All of which scratches only the
surface of the complicated questions being asked by school districts across the country: How do
we educate our most vulnerable
citizens, children who have disabilities ranging from dyslexia to
autism? Is it better to make sure
their individual needs are met, or
is it better to surround them with
their “neurotypical” peers? When
making budgeting decisions in the
face of dwindling resources, do your
last dollars go to general education
students or to the neediest cases?
Within the world of autism interventions, these questions only
get tougher. As a civil right for