Inclusion
Perspectives on Parenting©
by Nancy Lambert Davenport
Nancy Davenport's Column:
For Richardson News 04-11-99
Copyright Nancy Lambert Davenport 1999
"Discipline Regulation is Not A Threat To Inclusion"
It was not one of our better Mondays. Austin started the day off tired from a late-night school activity two days before. All the incoming sixth graders (new leaders of the school) had had a lock-in (to bond) at the school, and my son was in the middle of every activity that was available. Austin has never done well without sleep and takes days to recover. That time was no exception.
I guess no one else was at his or her cheerful best either, because some boys began jostling each other in line in front of him. Someone ought to do a study of jostling. It is such a boy activity. (Girls do the same thing with words usually with the same results.) The boys leaned, butted, pushed, nudged, everything short of actually hitting.
Austin apparently was right behind the group watching them, I am sure, with great interest. The nudging graduated to shoving, and before Austin knew it, one of the boys was lunging toward him. Austin pushed him away, and the boy fell and bashed his lip on the wall as he went down. Blood was everywhere. Accusations flew, and before long Austin found himself in the principal's office sitting next to the bleeding boy with the unpardonable accusation of fighting hanging over them both like a pall.
The principal was a reasonable person, and was able to sort out the episode for what it was - a boyish episode not a fight. The fact that one of the boys, my son, had disabilities was irrelevant.
That may not continue to be the case.
Last week, I summarized the new regulations which now accompany the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Generally they are good ones. They clarify the intent and tighten up the word usage. There is one regulation though that so weakens the entire law that I imagine our courts are going to be filled with litigation over it. It is the regulation concerning discipline.
According to the new interpretation, a student with special needs can be removed from his regular education setting for up to 45 days if a hearing officer (from the school district) thinks it is necessary. The reason would have to be that if the student stays in his or her present placement, it could result in injury to the student or others.
Under reasonable circumstances and in reasonable times this would be a reasonable law. Texas though right now is close to the bottom of the list of states when it comes to educating children who have special needs with their non-disabled peers. Many school districts are seeking any excuse to shunt students with special needs off a separate environment. Students like my son are the ones most easily eliminated from a regular education setting by this regulation. Someone could say he did just about anything and get away with it because Austin would not be able to defend himself verbally.
One neighboring school district has had six formal complaints lodged against it within the last two weeks according to Advocacy, Inc. Our own Richardson School District, which is not far from that number, spends thousands of dollars on litigation of such issues that if handled better and more reasonably earlier could have been avoided altogether. Think of the teachers we could hire with that money instead.
I wish I could legislate the heart. I wish I could pass a law requiring everyone to get to know my son and his friends and see how much they contribute to a well-run classroom. All of our kids - disabled or not-can learn best together. It's a proven fact. We don't need a weak regulation like this. A good teacher with good training, proper assistance, and a reasonable class load can teach anybody just about anything. I've seen them do it. The kids and the good teachers are not the problem.
Return to
Top of Page
Return to
Table of Contents
Return to Home Page
Nancy Lambert Davenport
EMAIL: ndavenport@ticnet.com
URL: http://www.nancyldavenport.com