Shining a Light on NYC Special Education Crisis

Anyone dealing with special education laws in New York City -- parents, attorneys, teachers, schools, and hearing officers -- knows that this is a system in crisis. Too few hearing officers, extensive delays, even too few hearing rooms (all of which are located in often inconvenient downtown Brooklyn) are just a few of the issues apparent to those who are seeking legal intervention to obtain the services and setting that children with disabilities are entitled to under law, specifically, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Now, thanks to a report prepared by an outside consultant, Deusdedi Merced of Special Education Solutions, LLC, and made public by The City, the full extent of the problems with this system and how these problems impact students and families is being made clear. The report was initially commissioned in early 2018 by the New York State Department of Education and the consultant was charged with examining the policies, procedures, and practices relating to impartial hearings in New York City. According to Mr. Merced, a well-regarded attorney who has served in roles in all aspects of the special education system in New York, D.C., and elsewhere, delays in completing this report were "directly attributed to actions taken by the New York City Independent Hearing Office and/or New York City Department of Education."

When the 49 page report was issued on February 22, 2019 it was only released after a public document disclosure request by The City was granted. The news of the report with a link to its contents appeared in yesterday's edition of The City.

In addition to the discussion of the report in The City, there is another piece about the report, its findings, and the current state of special education proceedings in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Both news reports make for a quick and concerning read. The report itself is dense with information, but some crucial findings include:

• New York State has almost as many due process complaints (the initial step to contest an issue under the IDEA) filed each year as the next six largest states combined; 90 percent of these are filed in New York City.
• Logistical issues abound:  On an average day there are 122 hearings scheduled but there are only 10 hearing rooms. Hearing rooms often lack sufficient furniture and are poorly ventilated.
• Hearing officers are poorly compensated and there are frequent recusals. There are insufficient hearing officers for the number of matters. Hearing officers are appointed without anyone checking on their availability (few do this as a full time career).
• Failure to use uncontested methods -- mediation - or to keep students in their current uncontested placements adds to the burdens on the system. 

The report urges prompt action -- by both NY City and NY State -- to keep this vital avenue for parental redress open and functioning. We hope someone is listening.

No School for the Fall? No Need to Panic

Most students know where they will be in school this fall. They may be continuing in the same school they have attended, only one grade higher. Or they may be moving to another school, either from an elementary to a middle school, or from middle to high school. Many have even visited their new classrooms and met their new teachers during a "moving up" day at the end of the school year. Even students whose families have relocated to another school district -- nearby or across the country -- generally know where they will be starting school in August or September.

 

But not all students have a place for the coming year. Public schools in some areas, including New York City, may have a shortage of places in desirable schools and place some students on waiting lists, so that while a student will have a place somewhere, he or she may not know exactly where at this point in the summer. 

Other students are new to the city, and have not yet been enrolled. For these students, the NYC Department of Education has information available on their New Student Page., which includes information on what documentation is needed for enrollment. They also offer in-person assistance at Family Welcome Centers, which are located in every borough.

For private school students, the situation is a bit different. While public schools must provide a place for every student (although sometimes, due to  over-enrollment in some schools, this doesn't happen by the first day of school), private schools of all kinds have no such requirement. They can generally determine their admissions criteria and often set up their classes months in advance. Many families apply to these schools almost a full year before their student would actually start classes. And that situation can be even more so for private schools for students with special learning needs. 

However, even for students with special learning needs facing limited spots in schools that can offer them the support they require, all is not lost. First, keep in mind that a school that might be full in June can have openings by August, as families move or change their plans. Stay in touch with the admissions office of the school(s) you are interested in and let them know you would enroll if a spot opens up. Also, despite what parents may hear (and schools don't want to advertise this fact), but especially in times of economic uncertainty or downturn, not all of these schools fill their spots. Private school is very expensive, and whether families pay completely on their own, or are seeking reimbursement for special education tuition, some parents find these schools beyond their means.  It never hurts to inquire about last minute openings. There is also the possibility of mid-year openings, as schools or families realize that the "fit" between a particular school and student is not a good one. Again, stay in touch with admissions officers to learn of these places. 

Parents of students who require special education and were contemplating private school should keep in mind that the public system not only is required to accept their child, but to provide him or her with a free, appropriate education (FAPE) under an IEP. There are many reasons why this solution may not be acceptable for some parents, including class size and the rigor of special education supports (although some public schools do provide strong special education programs) but it can offer an alternative while parents seek a private setting they may prefer. 

Photo by Pete Bellis on Unsplash

Carmel Academy - A Unique Program in Connecticut

Earlier this week, Dr. and Mrs. Yellin had the opportunity to visit Carmel Academy, a private K-8 school located on a lovely 17 acre campus in Greenwich, Connecticut. Carmel is a Jewish day school, and religious instruction and Hebrew language lessons are part of its curriculum.

But what makes Carmel Academy unique is the way it integrates a special education program - Providing Alternative Learning Strategies (PALS) - with the general curriculum in which most Carmel students participate. As Jonathan Holub, the Head of the PALS program, explained during his informative tour of the campus, there is a great deal of fluidity between the regular and the PALS classes. Students in the general education track who need some additional support in a particular subject may become part of a PALS class in that subject. Likewise, PALS students who can handle a more advanced class in one or more subjects may spend part of their day with typically learning students. The class schedule for each grade makes this flexible arrangement possible. Students in the PALS program thus feel very much a part of their grade and typical learners interact with the PALS students in class and across other school activities.

The PALS program notes that its basic tenet is that their students are not expected to to meet the demands of the curriculum; the curriculum is expected to adapt to the needs of the student.

Other notable features of PALS include:

• Small classes, capped at ten students with two teachers in each class, provide hands-on, multi-sensory instruction. Notably, both general and Judaics teachers have special education training.
• Instruction is thematic and interdisciplinary, so that subjects are connected across all academic areas. 
• All students are involved in general and Judaic instruction, but the depth of Judaic instruction is individually determined for each student. 
• On site professionals include occupational therapy (and a sensory gym), speech and language therapy, Orton-Gillingham and Lindamood-Bell reading specialists, a school psychologist and full time nurse. Outside consultants are brought in when needed. 

Clearly, Carmel is not for every student, even for every student seeking a Jewish day school. The PALS program focuses its curriculum on students with language based learning disabilities and would not a good fit for a student with significant emotional difficulties.

For families seeking a Jewish religious school with integration between special education and regular curriculums, Carmel is definitely worth exploring.

English Language Learners

Required professional development courses vary greatly in quality, so it is a real delight when a day devoted to accumulating necessary Continuing Legal Education credits turns out to be a truly fascinating series of lessons in areas that attorneys working in the field of education and special education don't always consider.

Such was the case yesterday at the Practicing Law Institute's School Law Institute. Discussions about sexual assault on campus, transgender youth in public schools, the use of police authority and arrest powers in schools, and how changing family dynamics make deciding who is the "client" in an educational matter complicated, all were extremely well-presented. So was the more expected discussion of new developments in special education case law.

One particularly interesting topic was presented by Abja Midha, Esq. of Advocates for Children of New York, where she is Director of the Immigrant Students’ Rights Project, which works to protect English Language Learners’ and immigrant students’ access to educational programs and improve their educational outcomes. The Project has numerous resources available - many in multiple languages - and is involved in policy initiatives as well.

Ms. Midha noted that not all children who are English language learners (ELL) are immigrants. Some were born here to parents who speak languages other than English. And some children who are proficient in English have parents who have limited English proficiency and require translation services to be able to access necessary information about their child and the school system.

Federal statutes and case law have created significant rights for ELL. In the 1974 U.S. Supreme Court case  Lau v. Nichols, (414 U.S. 563), brought by non-English speaking Chinese students in the San Francisco public schools, Justice William O. Douglas' opinion noted, “There is no equality of treatment merely by providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, teachers, and curriculum; for students who do not understand English are effectively foreclosed from any meaningful education. Basic English skills are at the very core of what these public schools teach. Imposition of a requirement that, before a child can effective participate in the educational program, he must already have acquired those basic skills is to make a mockery of public education.”

The day's presentations on all topics will be available in a couple of weeks as an "on demand" program. The Practicing Law Institute offers scholarships to selected programs for attorneys in the nonprofit sector and others.

Top Five Resources for Special Education Teachers

There is an abundance of exceptional, well researched literature out there for teachers who work with diverse students to draw from. However, I find that there are a select few texts that I refer back to regularly for clarification, insight or strategies. I have culled and whittled down my bookshelf to my top five picks, and described the merits of each text:

1. Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today's Schools (7th Edition) by Ann Turnbull, Rud Turnbull, Michael L. Wehmeyer and Karrie A. Shogren

Exceptional Lives provides a detailed, robust description of the different disability categories and federal special education laws. This excellent text is a foundational "read and return to" resource for any teacher working with diverse learners. Throughout the text, the authors use the framework of three guiding themes: Inclusion, Partnerships, and Universal Design for Progress.

2. Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Enhancing the School Experiences of Students with Disabilities by Amy G. Dell, Deborah Newton and Jerry G. Petroff

This text discusses how assistive technology can be used to achieve the ideals of universal design for learning and differentiated instruction. The authors do not focus on disability categories; they reject one-sized fits all approaches by focusing on providing strategies and tools for specific needs. However, technology is changing rapidly and any book written about technology can become obsolete quickly. Thus, one of the merits of this resource is that the text comes with an accompanying website that the authors update with new tools and advancements in the latest research. 

3. Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom: Practical Applications (What Works for Special-Needs Learners) by Tracey E. Hall, PhD, Anne Meyer, EdD, and David H. Rose, EdD

This practical text describes the underlying principles of universal design for learning (UDL), and details tangible ways to use UDL to meet the needs of diverse students across age levels. This book has the power to equip teachers with the skills required to develop classroom goals, assessments and learning materials that use UDL. The book is cross curricular and provides examples and strategies for reading, writing, science, mathematics, history, and the arts. 

4. The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel, MD and Tina Payne Bryson, PhD

Although traditionally a parenting book, the principles of The Whole Brain Child are equally as valuable for teachers working with diverse learners. The book is a simple, practical resource that features twelve strategies for helping kids thrive in the face of common childhood challenges. The text hinges on the current medical and psychological understanding of child cognitive development and describes how a child’s brain is wired. The book explains how to use the understanding of a child’s brain to promote pro-social behavior in children. Drs. Siegel and Bryson also publish the The Whole-Brain Child Workbook: Practical Exercises, Worksheets and Activities to Nurture Developing Minds to help educators and parents deploy the twelve strategies.

5. Smart but Scattered: The Revolutionary "Executive Skills" Approach to Helping Kids Reach Their Potential by Peg Dawson, EdD and Richard Guare, PhD

Often learners with special needs struggle with the important executive functioning skills required to sustain focus, follow directions, complete tasks and regulate their impulses. Smart but Scattered is a great resource for both parents and teachers to help children learn the important skills of organization, time management, problem solving and coping with their emotions. The book provides simple assessment tools to help evaluate your students' strengths and challenges accompanied by activities and strategies to help build their deficient skills.

Toys for Learning and Development

In our last post we offered gift suggestions for teachers. Today we look at two sources for gifts for children with special learning needs. We hope you find these helpful as you do your holiday shopping!

Learning should and can be fun. Even if learning vulnerabilities exists, it is entirely possible to help develop your child’s skills in an engaging, play-based manner. Toys are an interactive, screen free way to develop and hone critical areas of child development. As a teacher, some of my favorite play-based learning materials came from Melissa and Doug and Plan Toys. This article primarily focuses on toys for special education purposes. However, it is important to note that all children will benefit from play-based developmental learning. So, although these resources are deemed effective for students with diverse learning needs, they will also be beneficial for the overall development of all children.

If you are looking to acquire play based learning materials for your home or classroom, the first resource to explore is Melissa and Doug, an award-winning American toy company that offers an array of toys designed for special needs students as well as typically developing children. The toys detailed in their special education section were selected from Melissa and Doug’s traditional toy line by Dr. Melissa Liguori, for parents and special educators to use develop their students’ unique skills. Melissa and Doug offers toys across a number of developmental categories, including, social and emotional, oral, gross and fine motor skills, cognitive skills, speech and language, life skills and sensory awareness. Beyond detailing each toy, each developmental skill category is also explained by Dr. Liguori and tips are offered on how to implement and utilize the resources available. For an even deeper analysis and more robust skill building tips I found that as an educator the Melissa and Doug Special Needs Toy Guide was an invaluable resource.

Your next resource to explore is Plan Toys, another award winning toy company that prides itself on designing green, sustainable and safe wooden toys for young children. On the Plan Toys website you will find listings of toys that promote learning across different key areas of child development. Many of the categories are similar to Melissa and Doug, and unlike the former there isn’t any additional material on how to implement the resources. However, the materials that Plan toys offers that I have found to be valuable are a variety of their toys for concentration, their sign language alphabet tiles, their braille alphabet tiles and their mood memo toy for helping express emotions.

Learning is fun, and it doesn’t have to look like traditional pencil and paper work. There are a variety of resources and methods to promote skill development while playing. Enjoy exploring all the alternative learning materials available.

Advocacy and Services in Westchester and Putnam

Many New York City parents know that Advocates for Children and other nonprofit organizations provide excellent, free or low cost help for families struggling with school related issues. But we want to make sure that parents in Westchester and Putnam Counties are aware of an agency with offices in both locations that offers similar services to families in these suburbs north of New York City. The Educational Advocacy Program is a Program of the Westchester Independent Living Center (WILC) and its satellite office, Putnam Independent Living Services (PILS). Some of the services offered include:

• Providing direct and indirect advocacy for parents of students with a wide array of special needs, including special education and transition to life beyond high school. This assistance is free and available in both English and Spanish.
• Training parents to become "Lay Advocates"  to help other parents navigate the special education system
• They also have an email newsletter with useful information on current workshops and programs, as well as links to information about benefits, educational policy, and community news. 

Watch for news about my presentation on Life After High School for Students with Disabilities and Their Families, scheduled for some time in May (postponed from April 30th) at the Westchester location.

Least Restrictive Environment

Some recent parent questions have prompted us to take another look at a basic principle of the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), the concept of Least Restrictive Environment, or LRE.

The text of the IDEA defines the goal of LRE in somewhat labored prose, as:

To the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not disabled, and special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

A simpler way of looking at LRE, and one that has been adopted by the New York City Department of Education, among others, is to think about a continuum. One end of this spectrum would be educating children in their neighborhood schools in a regular class without any special supports. That would be the least restrictive setting possible. Next, and somewhat more restrictive, would be educating children in regular classes with specialized supports. This could include providing accommodations or curriculum modifications to a particular child in the regular class, or having a para-professional come into the regular classroom to assist a student. To the extent that a student is "pulled out" of the classroom for some or all of the day, for services like speech and language therapy or resource room, that would be more restrictive, but still within the confines of a regular class most of the time. 

Further away from the least restrictive end of the continuum would be a self-contained class in a regular school, followed by a specialized school. On the most restrictive end of this continuum would be residential schools for children with the most significant disabilities, who cannot be served in any less restrictive setting. As the New York City Department of Education notes, any move away from a general education class should be considered only if a "child would not be able to make meaningful progress in a general education class, even with the help of supports and services."

Why is this important? Being in a regular class offers children with learning and other challenges the opportunity to make friends in their neighborhood and to improve behavior, communication, academic, and social skills. Typically learning children benefit as well; they gain in social and emotional growth and in their understanding and acceptance of diversity. Classes where typical learners are educated alongside students with learning challenges, with the addition of a special education teacher in the room (sometimes called Collaborative Team Teaching) is one way significant numbers of students are getting the benefits of these opportunities. 

Not every child will do well in a general education setting, and many children only begin to thrive when they are in a more restrictive setting where they can improve both their academic skills and confidence. But all parents should understand the goals of LRE and consider how they may apply to their own child's educational setting. 

Learning to Advocate for Your Child - And Others

Parents sometimes mention to us that they are thinking of becoming an advocate for other parents and students who are seeking special educational services from schools. Most of these parents have dealt with the special education process with their own child and want to apply what they have experienced and learned to help others. Some of these individuals are attorneys who practice in a variety of areas but want to now learn how to extend their practice to the field of education law. Two upcoming programs offer an opportunity for newcomers to get started in the fields of special education advocacy and law.

As we have noted previously, COPAA (The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates) is holding its annual conference March 6-9 in Baltimore. This event offers programs for both experienced attorneys and just-starting-out advocates, and is attended by hundreds of individuals from all over the country. It is an amazing way to learn about special education and how to advocate effectively, and affords attendees the opportunity to meet and learn from the leading experts in various aspects of this field. If you are even thinking about getting involved in special education law, this is the place to start. One note: COPAA membership and attendance at the Conference are not open to those who work for or represent school districts or similar agencies.

Another excellent opportunity for parents and others to learn about special education is at a Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Training. There is one coming up in Plainview, New York, on March 21, 2014, but a check of the Wrightslaw website will allow you to sign up to receive the Wrightslaw newsletter, which announces programs in all parts of the country. Peter Wright is an attorney who overcame his own learning disability to become a leader in the field of special education and a respected resource for special education practitioners at all levels.

Research Supports Benefits of Inclusion for All Students

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Miriam Kurtzig Freedman, an attorney representing schools, raises questions about the practice called mainstreaming or inclusion, which places students with learning disabilities in mainstream classrooms along with typically-learning peers. A special education teachers works alongside a regular teacher in these classrooms to address the needs of the special education students. Here in New York City, these Collaborative Team Teaching -- CTT -- classes are quite common. Although inclusion has been generally used to refer to students with any kind of disability, Ms. Freedman focuses her analysis on students with learning issues, so we will limit our discussion to this kind of inclusion as well.

Photo: dave_mcmt

Freedman notes," Look into the research on inclusion and you will find that this policy is generally based on notions of civil rights and social justice, not on "best education practices" for all students." She goes on to state that there is no research on how inclusion impacts the academic progress of the typical learners and that parents of typical learners simply remove their children from public schools rather than complain about what Ms. Freedman describes as "simplified" teaching in inclusion settings.She notes that this impacts the goal of diversity in classrooms. "Can this be anything but very bad for America?," she asks.

Our colleagues at COPAA, the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, have fired back, in a blog post by Denise Marshall, the Executive Director of COPAA. Ms. Marshall notes: "The article by Ms. Freedman wholly disregards both the law and science. Her erroneous proposition that educating children with disabilities alongside their non-disabled peers is harmful to students without disabilities has no basis in science nor legal precedents. Not only is this claim based on stereotype, but this viewpoint disregards decades of legal and scientific developments and undercuts a quarter of a century of progress in remedying widespread discrimination against children with disabilities."

Ms. Marshall is correct; research supports the conclusion that all students do better in an inclusion setting. In fact, despite the concerns of teachers about managing a diverse classroom, there are numerous benefits -- both social and academic -- in such settings. Ms. Marshall concludes that Ms. Freedman  "is correct in stating that our schools thrive with a diverse population and engaged parents. However, the idea that removing children with disabilities from regular classrooms will promote diversity, defies comprehension. A return to segregation and exclusion of children with disabilities will hardly promote diversity and is definitely not the way forward.."

We agree.

Getting IDEA Services Takes Time

Josh K

Several parents have asked us recently how long it will take to get their child special education services from their public school district. The law is clear as to the timelines that apply to this process; however, when these timelines are not followed, it can be frustrating for families whose child is about to begin a new school year or is struggling during an ongoing year.

The IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), which sets the federal standards for special education services, links the time frame for providing services to the evaluation of the student and provides a deadline for students who are undergoing an initial evaluation. It states that the evaluation process must be undertaken "within 60 days after receiving parental consent for the evaluation," but allows states to determine their own time limits.

New York law requires that the evaluation of a student be conducted and (if the student is found to be eligible for special education services) that "appropriate special education programs and services ... be provided to the student with a disability within 60 school days of the receipt of consent to evaluate." The same time frame applies to re-evaluation. And what are school days? The New York regulations define them as "any day, including a partial day, that students are in attendance at school for instructional purposes... except that, during the months of July and August, school day means every day except Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays."

New Jersey allows for 90 days between the initial referral for special education and the implementation of services, which is illustrated in this linked chart. Connecticut moves more quickly, requiring that services be implemented within 45 days after receiving a referral form.

Even families who have obtained Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs) such as those conducted by practices like The Yellin Center need to consent to the evaluation process to get the ball rolling for their child. The school district must consider the IEE but will almost always want to assess the student themselves in specific areas. We generally advise families not to waste time arguing with their school about this. Let them conduct their own assessment if they wish to, but make sure they are aware of the IEE, since some test instruments can only be given at certain intervals or will be invalid. There are numerous test instruments available, so another one can be selected.

We know from experience that the deadlines that states set for evaluation and implementation of services aren't always followed. Especially here in New York City, there can be significant backlogs in school district evaluations and getting anything done in the summer is quite difficult in some districts. However, legal recourse also takes time and parents often have no practical solution but to be persistent in making sure that the process of getting services is moving along according to legally mandated timetables.We wish we had an easy answer, but at this point can only urge parents to move ahead promptly when they are seeking special education services for their child, since the process can be a slow one.

Changes to New York State Diplomas

As graduation approaches for high school seniors, it is important for parents and students who will be in high school next year to be aware of significant changes to the diplomas available in New York State for students with learning and related challenges. We last wrote about changes to New York diplomas back in May, 2011.

Photo credits: Jeff Meyer and clker.com

For many years, New York had a three tier system for diplomas: students could earn a Regents diploma (and later, a Regents diploma with honors) by taking and passing a series of Regents Exams; for students, including those with Individual Educational Programs (IEPs), who could not meet the challenge of Regents Exams, there were Regents Competency Exams, which were less challenging and which led to a "local" diploma; and, finally, for those students with significant learning difficulties who could not manage even a local diploma, there was an "IEP Diploma" which was not really a diploma at all, but a certificate that simply noted that the student met the goals set forth in his or her IEP.

As states, including New York, worked to raise standards for all students, the Regents Competency Exams were eliminated. Students with IEPs could still earn a local diploma by passing a lesser number of Regents Exams with lower scores than typical students. This option remains in place for the time being.

More recently, notice was given that IEP diplomas were being eliminated, and the Board of Regents has put in place a temporary replacement in a credential they call the “New York State Career Development and Occupational Studies Commencement Credential.” Like the IEP diploma, this certificate of graduation is not a diploma. The position of the Board of Regents is that this certificate will be more meaningful than a IEP diploma, because it will indicate what courses a student has completed towards occupational competency. Some parents are concerned that employers will not consider this any differently than an IEP diploma -- neither is actually a high school diploma -- and will not hire students who can present only this credential.

The New York State Board of Regents notes that the new credential is in place only temporarily, "in order to ensure that the proposed credential is available to students with disabilities effective July 1, 2013 when the regulation providing for an individualized education program (IEP) diploma sunsets." There is information available on the Board of Regents website about the ways this new credential was developed and how it is expected to impact students. There is a comment period, ending June 7, 2013, for the public to let the Board of Regents know what they think of this new credential. Click here to obtain the comment form.


Photo credits: Jeff Meyer and clker.com

A New Way to Talk About Special Education

The terrific Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) recently held its annual meeting, and one important initiative to emerge from this gathering of education attorneys, parents, and advocates was a focus on the importance of language when we talk about children with special learning and other needs and the work we do to help them. Think about it: we know that special education laws grew out of civil rights legislation and court decisions. The very principles that were determined to apply to discrimination on the basis of race eventually grew to apply to discrimination on the basis of disability. Children who were excluded from schools because they had disabilities were no less the victims of discrimination than those who were excluded or segregated because of race.

We've also seen how effective language can be in shaping opinion and practice in areas from politics to marketing consumer goods. As described in a blog on the public area of the COPAA members website, attorneys Mark Martin and Jennifer Laviano propose a new way of talking about what we have always called "special education" and its related areas.

Among the changes they propose are using "civil rights" to refer to this this area of law and advocacy. So, an attorney would not be a "special education lawyer" but, instead, would be a "civil rights lawyer."  Students who are suspended or expelled can be better described as being "excluded from class and from learning." When children are removed from class they are being "segregated." And children don't need special services, they need a "meaningful education."

As the blog authors note, it is time that students and families and the attorneys and advocates who work on their behalf  "have the rights, respect, and equality to which they are entitled." Using language that more accurately conveys the rights of students and the roles of their supporters is one step in that direction. We agree.

Tax Deductions for Parents

If the ads for tax preparation services haven't yet gotten your attention, then perhaps the pile of W-2 and 1099 forms in your mail basket might. It's time to think about taxes.

For the past several years we have reminded parents that they may be able to deduct certain expenses they incur for their child's special education. As set out in IRS Publication 502, the cost of tuition at a school with a program designed to help a student overcoming a diagnosed learning disability is generally deductible. Likewise, special instruction or tutoring outside of school, such as a certified reading instructor for a student with a diagnosis of dyslexia, may be deductible.

Other items that parents should consider for deduction include transportation to therapy appointments, and technology that is designed to enable a child to benefit from special education, such as text-to-speech programs, other specialized technology, and devices such as hearing aides.

These deductions are considered medical expenses and are subject to limitations as are all medical deductions. Raising children is expensive, and raising a child with special educational or medical needs is even more so. Make sure you speak with your accountant or tax preparer to take advantage of all the deductions to which your family is entitled.

photo: philiptaylor cc

Learning Difficulties in Students' Own Words

High school student Bryan Stromer has written a terrific piece in the New York Times/WNYC "SchoolBook" feature about his experience applying to top New York City public high schools. Bryan has a learning disability and cerebral palsy and was given twice the standard time to take the highly competitive exam that is required for entrance to the most demanding academic public schools in the City. He scored well enough to earn a place at the prestigious Brooklyn Technical High School but decided to continue his high school career at the New York City Lab School where he had attended middle school. Why? Because there was only one special education teacher for more than 5300 students at Brooklyn Tech, the largest high school in the city, but where less than one percent of the students have special needs.

Another perspective from students with learning difficulties appears on the website Smart Kids with LD, where a piece by Sheryl Knapp includes the views of four middle school students who discuss some of the practical issues they deal with in their schools. Pull out supports, for example, sometimes interferred with the activities going on in their regular classroom. Most of the students noted that neither they nor their parents had sufficient input into the way their program was implemented.

If you have not yet read the book Learning Outside the Lines by Jonathan Mooney and David Cole, two Brown University graduates with learning and attention issues, you may find their perspectives and suggestions useful. What worked for them might not work for everyone, but they present their experiences in a very readable, entertaining format. This book has been around for a while, but it is a solid member of the "in their own words" genre.



Photo: Lichfield Live/Flickr Creative Commons

School Visit: Mary McDowell Friends School

Your blogger recently had a chance to visit the elementary school program at this private special education school located in Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood in New York City and came away most impressed with what she saw and with the information provided by Deborah Edel, the Director of Admissions.

Mary McDowell Friends School began in the 1980's as a K-4/5 school and over the years has added grades and changed locations so that it now also has a middle school program for grades 6-8 in a separate building in nearby Carroll Gardens,  as well as a high school program in Brooklyn Heights that presently goes through 10th grade and is adding an additional grade each year.

Mary McDowell Friends School in Brooklyn

The students at Mary McDowell have a variety of learning issues, but the largest number are students with language based difficulties, ranging from dyslexia to expressive and receptive language disorders, as well as processing issues, including central auditory processing difficulties. A somewhat smaller number of students have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), primarily of the inattentive type. Mary McDowell would probably not be a good fit for students with major hyperactivity. The school also serves students with executive function difficulties and a small number of students with nonverbal learning disorders, including those who have issues with social cognition. Deborah Edel noted that learning difficulties seldom fit into neat categories and that some students have difficulties in more than one domain.

One of the aspects of the school that we found particularly appealing was its focus on the Quaker principles, called testimonies, reflected in the acronym SPICES: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship. The students at Mary McDowell come from all kinds of religious affiliations, but the Quaker values transcend religion and infuse the culture of the school with a sense of responsibility towards others, to the school community, and to the community at large. 

Mary McDowell is not on the "approved" list maintained by New York State and families who seek public funding for tuition (now $49,000 per year) will need to seek reimbursement from their public school district.

Photo via Mary McDowell Friends School

Our Annual Tax Reminder

As you begin pulling together the various forms that have arrived in the mail over the last few weeks, and vow that this will be the year that you get your taxes done well in advance of April 15th, we want to remind you that you may be able to deduct certain expenses you incur in connection with a child's special education needs.

IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, contains an extensive list of expenses that may be deductible as medical expenses, subject to the limits that apply to all medical deductions. These expenses may include tuition at a private, special education school, attendence at special education conferences, and tutoring fees for students with learning disabilities.

There are conditions and restrictions on all of these deductions. An excellent and extensive discussion on this entire topic from 2009, now on the Great Schools website, is still a useful overview of this subject. Only a tax professional can give you specific guidance on this issue, but you may want to read the IRS publication or look at our 2011 Tax Tips post to help you ask the right questions.

Dyslexia Study Critical of Discrepancy Model

Back in October, we wrote about a new study that found that children with reading problems have the same kinds of processing issues regardless of whether they have high or low IQs. We quoted that study's authors who pointed out that the kinds of dyslexia interventions that are provided for students of average or above average intelligence should also be used with children with less than average IQs, whose reading problems had previously been thought to be "caused" by their lower IQ.

Now, the National Institutes of Health, which helped to fund the study, has weighed in with its comments  -- and we think that what they had to say is important for schools and parents.

The NIH noted, in a press release, "The results call into question the discrepancy model — the practice of classifying a child as dyslexic on the basis of a lag between reading ability and overall IQ scores." They go on to explain, "In many school systems, the discrepancy model is the criterion for determining whether a child will be provided with specialized reading instruction. With the discrepancy model, children with dyslexia and lower-than-average IQ scores may not be classified as learning disabled and so may not be eligible for special educational services to help them learn to read."

According to Brett Miller, Ph.D., director of the Reading, Writing and Related Learning Disabilities Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the part of the National Institutes of Health that funded the study, “It follows that, whether they have high IQ scores or low IQ scores, children with great difficulty in learning to read stand to benefit from educational services to help them learn to read. The study results indicate that the discrepancy model is not a valid basis for allocating special educational services in reading.” 

We have never been fans of the discrepancy model for providing services under the Individuals with Disabilities with Education Act and Dr. Yellin has done extensive work with school districts who seek to move beyond this model and use a student's Response to Intervention (RTI) as a way of determining how to deal with learning challenges. It's heartening to see that researchers and the NIH agree.

Expect more coverage of this study and its impact on special education services in blogs to come.

Least Restrictive Environment

Parents of students with learning challenges who receive special education or related services from the public schools need to be familiar with the term Least Restrictive Environment – LRE.

The use of the term stems from language in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that requires that students receiving special education services be educated, “to the maximum extent appropriate … with children who are not disabled” and further provides that placing such children in separate classes or separate school settings or otherwise removing them from the regular educational environment occur only when “the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.”  There is an excellent discussion of the issues relating to LRE from the U.S. Department of Education that appears on the Wrightslaw website.

The goal of LRE is to prevent children with any sort of disability (we don’t like that terminology, but it is the language used in the statute) from being removed from the regular classroom unless it is truly necessary. It is the basis for the variety of inclusion settings that schools have implemented to provide support for students with learning challenges while addressing the needs of their classmates. One model is Collaborative Team Teaching classes that use a special education teacher in a regular classroom to provide support needed by students with learning challenges. Other examples of LRE at work are “pull out” supports that keep students in regular classes while providing special education supports in a separate setting for only for part of the school day, or the inclusion of children who require a separate classroom setting for most of the day in non-academic activities (lunch, gym, recess) with their typically learning peers.

What does this mean for a child with learning difficulties who has an IEP – an Individualized Education Program? It means that for all children full time presence in a regular classroom is the “default” setting and that the IEP team (called the CSE -- Committee on Special Education -- in many locales, including here in New York) needs to consider each step away from this default and determine if it is truly necessary, before removing a child from that setting for even part of the day. It doesn’t mean that some children are not placed in separate classrooms or even separate schools, just that such placements must be justified as truly necessary for the child’s education.

Of course, as with many laudable goals, there are complexities and agendas at work when considering LRE. Children with behavioral issues who may be disruptive to their classmates may be placed in a separate setting, even when they could benefit from a regular classroom. Schools have generally found that inclusion classrooms, where children with and without IEPs are educated together, are less expensive than maintaining separate special education classes and may be reluctant to appropriately place a child in a separate class even when that would be the best setting for him or her.

Furthermore, as with much of special education, LRE is applicable only in the public school system. Parents of some students with learning issues are very eager to have them enrolled in private, special education schools whose entire mission is to educate students with learning difficulties, even though such schools are definitely a most restrictive environment.

Photo background used under Creative Commons by Horia Varlan

Monday Miscellany

Writing Opportunity for New Jersey 5th and 6th Graders

Teachers 4 Student Success, a non-profit organization, will be hold a writing camp for 5th and 6th grade students in New Jersey this summer. The camp is designed for students who have either been diagnosed with a learning disability or who simply find writing difficult. Instruction will take place over 10 sessions from July to August, and will be based on research-tested methods for teaching expository writing. Because the program will be subsidized by a grant, the cost for the entire summer is only $20.00, though students must be willing to attend all sessions in Fort Lee, NJ or Ridgefield, NJ. Eligibility restrictions may apply. For further information, please contact Pooja Patel at pooja979@gmail.com or (201) 310-1348. Space is limited.

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A New Post-Secondary Program

Last week we had the chance to visit Giant Step Services, a two year vocational and independent living program for young adults with significant learning challenges. What brought us out to Hauppauge, in Suffolk County, New York, was the fact that this program is run by the same folks who created the Vocational Independence Program (VIP) at the New York Institute of Technology. VIP is a highly regarded post-secondary option for students whose learning difficulties would make college very difficult, but who can benefit from vocational education and life skills and social experiences. VIP students can also take courses at NYIT.

The team at Giant Step follows a similar model to VIP, but is not affiliated with a college, although students may take classes at Suffolk County Community College or elsewhere. The program is located in an apartment complex where the participants live together in two- or three-bedroom apartments. They receive significant levels of services and support to work in the community. The Giant Step program is still new, but given the background of the folks who are running it, we are hopeful that it will be an important resource for young people with significant learning challenges. For more information, contact Giant Step at (631) 631-5550.

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ARISE Coalition

New York City parents, teachers, and others who are concerned about the state of special education in the city should be aware of the ARISE Coalition (Action for Reform in Special Education), whose membership is a "Who's Who" of nonprofit organizations, educators, unions, and political leaders "seeking to connect and bring meaningful and positive reform to New York's schools. Their email alerts are a good way to keep abreast of NYC Special Education news.