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Each week, LD OnLine gathers interesting news headlines about learning disabilities and ADHD issues. Please note that LD OnLine does not necessarily endorse these views or any others on these outside websites.
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Swift Growth in Vouchers Predicted in Georgia
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Georgia started its voucher program for special education students last year, state education officials and lawmakers were unsure how many students and private schools would participate. They called it a success when 899 children with disabilities received vouchers to leave their public schools and attend 117 participating private schools. They expect even better results this year.
Boise Schools to Standardize Services for Students Who Are at Risk of Failing
Idaho Statesman
Guided by outside auditors who studied the district's special-ed services and outlined the strengths and weaknesses, district officials plan to refine the way they help students who are at risk of failing at school. Under the system now in place, "in our district, depending on what school you're at ... you'll have a very different experience," said Charlie Silva, special education coordinator for the Boise School District. "It needs to be streamlined, and that is what we're doing."
BESE Renews MLK's Charter without Provision to up Special Needs Population
The Times-Picayune (LA)
More than 80 teachers, parents and supporters of a revered Lower 9th Ward New Orleans charter school descended on the state Capitol on Wednesday to object to a proposal to renew the school's charter contingent on it submitting a plan to increase the number of enrolled special needs students. The charter for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology was renewed without the provision. Based on a February state count, King's special education population was less than the 5 percent of enrollment recommended in a state school board guideline.
Principal: CPS Officials Neglect Disabled Students
Chi-Town Daily News (IL)
A Chicago Public Schools principal yesterday accused district officials of routinely denying disabled students access to specialized help, and at times even barring them from evaluation for learning disabilities. Mary Ann Pollett, principal of Moses Montefiore Special Elementary School, testified before the City Council's Committee on Education and Child Development that officials have discouraged teachers at her school from reporting students' disabilities because it is too expensive to deal with them.
CA High School Student Overcomes Learning Disability
Tri-Valley Herald (CA)
The labels were supposed to get the best of Nicholas MacLean. After all, lazy, unmotivated, problem kids are not supposed to graduate and certainly not ones that enter high school with a reading level below second grade. Four years ago, MacLean's thoughts of hearing his name called and being able to accept a high school diploma seemed more fantasy than reality, but that was before he found the Barton Reading program. On Friday, in front of family and friends, MacLean was one of 580 Foothill graduates who received a diploma.
Toronto Sun (Canada)
The learning disability program that helps reduce nine-year-old Paige Harder's dyslexia, short-term memory and problems in phonetics may be on the chopping block. Hundreds of parents are outraged that the Toronto Catholic District School Board is considering cutting off funding for the Arrowsmith program, aimed at assisting special-needs students.
Scores Show SD Excels in Special Education
Rapid City Journal (SD)
It was a good week in special education departments statewide as they received a pat on the back from the South Dakota Department of Education for hitting federal and state targets for services for students with special needs. "We're very pleased with all of our districts," Ann Larsen, South Dakota Special Education Director, said during a phone interview.
An A.D.H.D. Student Finds Confidence on the Track
New York Times Well Blog
As a child, school for me was like being in Charlie Brown's classroom. The other kids heard what was going on, and all I would hear was "Waa, waaa waaa, wa wa." Words were spoken, and I knew them, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it was I was supposed to be getting. Everything changed in the seventh grade, when I decided to join the track team. School had been nothing but one failure after another and a constant reminder that I was inferior to the other kids. But when I stepped on the track it was different. I could keep up.
Illinois Special Education Bill Opens Access to Classes
Chicago Tribune
Amy Zimmerman has heard many say House Bill 628 sounds like it shouldn't be necessary. The bill ensures that parents of children with disabilities will have access to special education classrooms so they can be sure their kids' needs are being met. "Many people think that's just a given, but it doesn't always work that way," said Zimmerman, director of Health & Disability Advocates' Chicago Medical-Legal Partnership for Children.
Opinion: Equal Access to Charter Schools
Denver Post
As charter schools grow in popularity, it's important to ensure that special-needs children have just as much opportunity to attend them as other students. A story written by Denver Post reporters Jeremy Meyer and Burt Hubbard raised questions about whether that is the case in Colorado. The story, published Saturday, showed that 6.9 percent of students enrolled in charters in 2007-08 had identified disabilities, as compared to 9.7 percent in all schools. We would like to see that gap close, and encourage a task force and committee looking at the matter to come up with solid suggestions to that end.
Two Families Win Special-Ed Disputes with Local CA School District
Fresno Bee (CA)
Two families in Clovis, CA have won legal victories in their fights with Clovis Unified School District to get more academic help for their special-needs children. In one case, a federal judge found that Clovis Unified failed to provide special-education services to a boy diagnosed with attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder. In the other case, an administrative law judge found that the district denied a "free and appropriate public education" to a boy with autism.
Kids with Disabilities Shut Out by Economy
Boston Globe
Finding a summer job, the classic adolescent rite of passage, is tougher this summer than it has been in decades. But for teens with disabilities, the challenge is so monumental that only a very few may find work this year. The recession adds to perennial hurdles for kids with special needs: closed doors and closed minds in the community, and physical and cognitive issues that may make even simple tasks such as stocking store shelves out of reach. Too often, the immeasurables - their loyalty and tenacity - get overlooked, especially in a cutthroat job market.
Opinion: 'Lazy' Label Can Mask Learning Disabilities
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yes, CRCT scores are up in Georgia, but at what price? Are we teaching creative thinkers who will invent the next life-saving vaccine, the better computer and the environmentally cleaner car? Or are we teaching students how to pass a test so that teachers, principals and school districts look good? As an occupational therapist, I work with learning disabled children who are average to above average in cognitive/intelligence, with a "glitch" in one or two areas of learning. They need help and yet they are often denied services, told by their teachers they could do it if they want to and just need to try harder.
Opinion: Who do Charters Educate?
Los Angeles Times
Do charters take their fair share of special-ed students and English-language learners, who tend to be very expensive to educate and don't get high test scores? Are charter schools really teaching the same students as public schools? Ralph Shaffer and Lisa Snell debate.
Data-Driven Schools See Rising Scores
Wall Street Journal
Last fall, high-school senior Duane Wilson started getting D's on assignments in his Advanced Placement history, psychology and literature classes. Like a smoke detector sensing fire, a school computer sounded an alarm. The Edline system used by the Montgomery County, Md., Public Schools emailed each poor grade to his mother as soon as teachers logged it in. Montgomery, a suburb of Washington, D.C., spends $47 million a year on technology like Edline. It is at the vanguard of what is known as the "data-driven" movement in U.S. education -- an approach that builds on the heavy testing of President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind law.
State Report on SOL Testing Irregularities Points Finger at Local Virginia High School
Roanoke Times (VA)
William Fleming High School Principal Susan Willis and four other school administrators inappropriately kept 31 students with disabilities out of state tests over the past two years, according to a report from the Virginia Department of Education. Administrators altered class schedules so that lower-performing students would not take Standards of Learning tests, the report said. That practice may have artificially boosted William Fleming's overall pass rates and made it more likely the school would meet state and federal benchmarks.
Literacy Requirements Debated in SC
Post and Courier (SC)
The Charleston County School Board's policy committee debated Wednesday the merits of requiring students to be able to read before promoting them to the next grade. The committee didn't reach a conclusion, but its spirited discussion marked the beginning of what appears to be a serious effort by board members to clearly state that reading is the district's top priority. Some board members said they were hesitant to tie promotion with reading ability for reasons such as some students have learning disabilities, high schools already have certain requirements for students to earn a diploma, and teacher quality varies vastly among district schools.
For People with Disabilities, Voting Process Improves in Jacksonville
Florida Times-Union
There was a time when anyone could hear who Dan O'Connor voted for in elections. With a paper ballot that required the assistance of a seeing or able-bodied person to fill it out, there were no secret ballots for O'Connor and many other voters with physical disabilities in Duval County, FL. There were other barriers, too: A 2003 survey showed that only seven of the city's polling places were compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, potentially blocking access for people who used wheelchairs or walkers. Much has changed since. The new voting machines being used have headphones and can be used by people with visual impairments, people who cannot use their hands or who have learning disabilities, among others.
The Daily Observer (Canada)
Rick Green has adult ADHD. And he has his son to thank for making him aware of it. Like many adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, the Canadian celebrity (he was part of the comedic troupe The Frantics and plays Bill on TV's Red Green Show) learned of his own challenges a few years ago at age 48 when one of his children was diagnosed with it.
Schools Help Special-Education Students Map out their Futures
Daily Press (VA)
Caps and gowns hang in closets. End-of-course exams are history. Graduation is Saturday. But after the ceremony and the you-finally-made-it celebrations, what's next? That's a question many high school seniors face, but Woodside High School special-education students believe they have a handle on it. Since they entered the school four years ago, they have been working on their post-graduation plans with a team of teachers, counselors and their parents. High schools push students to work on post-graduation goals, but special-education students must do so. It's part of a federal law.
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