Overall, it seems like Baltimore City is moving in the right direction. It's perplexing, though, that a school system that is largely comprised of one minority, African American students, is having problems integrating another minority, students with disabilities.

Also, no one has specifically addressed the issues of why students with disabilities are not graduating or completing high school, at least not in these news stories. I would venture a guess and say that not regarding these students wholistically, as not just a collection of test scores and grades, may be a determining factor.

It's not so perplexing from the school's point of view. When it comes to the high schoolers, there are so many more variables than there are with the elementary and middle-level kids.

--School is not compulsory once students reach the age of 16. This means that they can just drop out.
--Many students don't drop out, but instead will disappear for extended stretches and then show up for a couple of days. As a result they can't be taken off the rolls as dropouts and they wind up affecting the school's graduation AND overall attendance rate (which, in turn, affects whether the school achieves AYP under No Child Left Behind).
--When a student reaches the age of 14, IEP Teams have to address transition to the world of work, which adds a huge layer of complexity to the student's education plan.
--The rate of PARENT attendance at IEP meetings is much lower at the high school level. Thus, parents will have less influence over the design and implementation of the IEP.

On another note, I've seen first-hand a couple of charter schools which will refuse to take a student based on the placement recommended in their IEP. Some will hold new meetings to adjust the placement but other students have been sent back to their zoned school.

Can a school refuse to make accommodations or review an IEP like that? Seems not quite legal to me. And some charter schools have very different attitudes. How is a parent supposed to make informed choices when schools have very different attitudes that they wouldn't admit to in public. And that's not limited to charters, "traditional" schools also have attitudes all over the map about dealing with special needs kids. And how about a list of the elementary schools that aren't doing a good enough job? If you have a special needs child there do you get a free transfer? This report sounds like movement in the right direction, but if you've got a special needs kid in the system right now? Not so good.

I am a teacher and a parent of a special needs person.This is my advice after years of experience. A parent can review school testing results but if they don't ring true about the child YOU know best,have your own testing done privately by a reputable person/agency and then prepare to fight for what your child deserves. Also, monitor the implementation of your child's IEP on a very regular basis.(not just at scheduled meetings) Go to school. sit in classes, observe other services such as speech, OT,PT, or whatever. Regularly and unannounced! Ask questions! Question authority. In the long haul, you are your child's only advocate. Teachers may mean well,CST may mean well, but in the end, you are left with your child!v

I sometimes wonder in my moments of weakness is the push for inclusion or mainstreaming the new "war of drugs"? I lot of money and time are being put into programs that at best would yield minimal results.

The response to the failure of the "war on drugs" is decriminalization, and accessible drug treatment. What is the response to saying we give up on inclusion? Segregation and institutionalization for special needs kids that have never learned how to get along in society and a society that thinks that dealing with "those kinds" of people is dangerous, expensive and unpleasant?

Sorry - I see more of a correlation between inclusion of special needs and desegregation. Should we go back on that? Certainly it's been expensive ad given the kind of segregation that we still see it could be argued that it's been a failure. Sorry to sound emotional, but you're talking about not wanting my kid in your school.

Parent,

Yes, I do want your child in my school. I have always taught inclusion classes and have had success in having students be competitive within the classroom at all levels of ability. However, I have also dealt with the parent who sends their child to school only for the money. I have sat in on IEP meetings at the high school level where the parent has demanded unreasonable accommodations for their student. This past summer school I met with parents who complained about the lack of accommodations for their students at charter and smaller schools. They transferred their students back to zone schools that had the resources to support the students. That is how the zone/neighborhood schools end up with a disproportionate number of special needs students and why we become overwhelmed. When almost a quarter of the students in your school need special ed services, something is wrong with the distribution. Parents should complain about that. And, yes, it is a form of segregation. Too much money has been wasted because the results are not forthcoming. FTE funding for schools would improve the situation but that won't happen either. Parents of special needs children often fight for the wrong things.

The District of Columbia severly limits the number of new charter and contract applicants that refuse to accommodate special ed populations and in this way ensures that there is quality service for the students who need it. In fact, I believe quite a few charter schools in the District are predominantly special ed servicers.