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Commentary:
Still a Gap in Special Education
Barbara Miner, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, May 21, 2005
For more articles like this
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http://www.bridges4kids.org.
Want to build a
first-rate school? Recruit good students and get rid of
"problem" students as soon as possible. It's a time-honored if
despicable tradition in some Milwaukee schools - public, private
and charter alike.
Perhaps that's why, after reading and writing about education
for almost 15 years, I halfheartedly skim articles proclaiming
miracles at School A or, conversely, horror stories at School B.
Yes, some schools deserve their saint-like reputation and some
schools deserve to go to hell. But not always.
Too often in evaluating a school, crucial questions are ignored.
How many students qualify for free lunch? How many don't speak
English? Does the school have admission standards or mandate
parent participation? Is it racially and culturally diverse?
What percent of students qualifies for special education
services?
Most important, does the school culture welcome all students or
subtly but effectively weed out those who, sometimes based on
stereotypes and the school's own shortcomings, are branded as
difficult to educate?
Which brings me to special education. One of the dirty little
secrets in Milwaukee is that one way to control your student
body - and increase your odds of becoming a "good" school - is
by limiting the number of children with special educational
needs.
This is especially true when the needs involve behavioral issues
and present themselves in the form of teenage boys with raging
hormones and years of pent-up frustration.
The problem is not unique to Milwaukee. But we have particular
complexities given our reliance on "choice" and vouchers as the
engine of school reform.
One of the downsides of choice is that it promotes an
individualistic "everyone for themselves" mentality. Without
countervailing policies promoting what's best for all children,
disparities increase. As a result, some Milwaukee schools have
more than a quarter of their students classified as special
education, while some have few if any.
The biggest gap is between public and private schools. Private
schools, even voucher schools relying on public tax dollars, are
not required to provide the same level of special education
services as public schools. This year, 457 of the approximately
27,000 students in Milwaukee private schools have been
identified as eligible for special education services - or less
than 2%.
Milwaukee Public Schools, in contrast, has more than 17% of its
students classified as special ed. (Figures come from Pat Yahle,
director of special services for MPS. Legally, MPS is required
to find and evaluate students for special educational needs,
even those attending private schools.)
Some schools say they cannot serve special education students
because of a lack of resources.
But this argument goes only so far. Lack of resources affects
all schools, which leads one to suspect that stereotypes and
bias also play a role.
In the 2003-'04 school year, special education services cost MPS
about $168 million. Federal and state monies reimbursed about
44% of those costs, according to MPS budget figures. MPS also
sets aside about $450,000 in federal dollars to service special
education students in private schools.
With a little digging, one can find special ed figures for
schools chartered by the City of Milwaukee and the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Charter schools are public schools and, by
law, have to serve special education students; data is reported
to the state.
Figures show that city and UWM charters tend to have fewer
percentages of special ed students than comparable MPS schools.
Most serve 7% to 13% special ed students. Some are as low as 3%
to 4%.
Disparities are also growing within MPS. A number of MPS schools
- including elementary, middle and high schools - have 20% to
25% of their students classified as special ed and a few
approach 30%. Most schools tend to have percentages in the
teens. Some, however, have 5% to 8% special ed students. A few
have 3%.
It's impossible to make hard-and fast generalizations, and the
most reliable source of information about specific MPS schools
is the districtwide "Report Card" available online.
Trends are noticeable. Small schools, partnership schools
(private schools under contract with MPS), language immersion
schools and schools for the gifted and talented tend to have the
lowest percentages of special ed students.
MPS charter schools run the gamut from very low percentages to
high percentages. Overall, the determining factor is not
structure but the school's culture and commitment to serving all
children.
Schools with low percentages of special ed students, whether
they are a charter, public or private, are sometimes the same
schools touted as examples of the city's "good" schools. Many
deserve that reputation.
But the question remains. To what extent might some schools be
"good" because "problem" students are sent elsewhere - whether
they are discipline problems, academic problems or perceived as
a problem by virtue of their special educational needs?
If some schools do not have any special ed students, some have
3% and some have 25% or more, something is not right. As even a
kindergartner would notice, "That's not fair."
Yes, special education is complicated. Yes, special education
costs a lot, with inadequate resources to pay for needed
services.
Yes, there are legal intricacies in the voucher program when
public dollars go to private schools. Yes, special ed students
sometimes gravitate toward certain schools because of the
services provided and the school's accepting atmosphere.
But there's another possibility - that as a city, we allow some
schools to succeed by virtue of forcing other schools to educate
those seen as undesirable.
Thirty years ago, landmark federal legislation established the
rights of students with special educational needs to a "free
appropriate public education." No longer were such students
institutionalized, kept at home, denied help or automatically
segregated within their schools.
Throughout Milwaukee, many fine teachers believe it is an honor
to fulfill the letter and spirit of that federal law.
Unfortunately, not everyone takes that attitude. Some people
don't even want to talk about special education disparities, as
if silence might make the issue go away.
If we can't even talk about a problem, how can we come up with
solutions? If we truly believe that no child should be left
behind, why don't all schools embrace and welcome special
education students?
Barbara Miner, a Milwaukee-based writer, is a columnist for
and former managing editor of Rethinking Schools magazine.
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