Comments on: Destructive rights of student inclusion

By: Mark D.

Mark D. — Sun, 15 Dec 2019 13:48:03 +0000

The case law regarding the IDEA is atrocious. The case law especially in the 9th Circuit departs significantly from the original intent of the IDEA. It doesn’t help that individual school districts, and state and local governments have pushed the “mainstreaming” idea to the limit. Just look at California’s policies keeping violent juveniles in schools and refusing to discipline students. All terrible policies pushed by extreme leftists.

By: jimc5499

jimc5499 — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 20:45:43 +0000

In reply to Richard. Our local teacher's union has an interest in anything involving funding. Their lawyers have gotten involved in property tax re-assessments where taxes were going to be reduced, things like my nephew's situation and the proper collection of school taxes. The exact reasons for this I don't know.

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:24:44 +0000

In reply to jimc5499. Do you know why the union had standing in the matter? I'm not arguing, just curious as I'm unfamiliar with the law in the area and it seems so strange that the union should even be heard in litigation over whether a particular child should be required to physically attend classes.

By: jimc5499

jimc5499 — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 14:11:01 +0000

My Nephew has Spina Bifida. His doctors advised that he be home schooled, but, our school district demanded that he be in class. His parents objected and a lawyer representing the teacher’s union got a Judge to order that he be in class to the best of his ability. The reason was that because he was handicapped, the district received additional funding from both the State and Federal Governments for every handicapped student. They went so far as to hire an aide for him and guess what union the aide belonged to.

By: Melvin H.

Melvin H. — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 12:26:23 +0000

There’s been stories like this for years, where a student is seen breaking things, assaults on teachers, staff, police, and other students, threats, and so forth—only to find out that student has some disability or is special needs and, in effect, has a permanent “get out of jail free” card, which prevents punishment, expulsion, or transfers out of schools. This latter, bizarre idea NEEDS to end—and now, before another Stoneman High takes place.

That, plus the cost of mainstreaming such students—in other stories years back, here on Overlawyered for example, that cost was listed as either ten times the per student cost, or in some cases over $100,000 per student—is compounded by the diagnoses of new “disorders” seemingly on a weekly basis; that’s a problem in its own right and needs to be limited. It also seems that diagnosing “autism” or “ADD”/“ADHD” has become a catch-all diagnosis for some students, and it’s seen by other students as “if they can get away with violent acts and threats so can I, and I won’t be punished because ‘so-and-so’ did it and nothing happened”.