Does this make sense to you?
Your child is disabled: She or he has autism, or ADHD, or learning disabilities; something. At three years old, your child is no longer in Early Intervention and doing well, but not ready for preschool with typical kids, even with an aide. You’ve done your research—you’ve talked to other parents, read and read and visited some private schools—you know your child needs something else, something more than what the public school (which might perhaps be just starting up its own autism classroom or program—but it is brand new and can you place your child, who will only be three years old once, in a new program). And then, more than unexpectedly, your child gets into a small private school that you think is just what he or she needs, and how can you say no? So, though your bank account is already getting a little too light, you enroll your child. He or she continues to do well. You, in the meantime, have been reading up on special education law and IDEA—-you look into getting an advocate, you talk to more parents, you get lawyered up. You bring your case to your school district.
You end up in court.
This happened to former Viacom executive Tom Freston, who took the city of New York to court over who should pay for private school for his son, who has learning disabilities. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled 4-4 that New York city schools should reimburse Freston. The October 26th New York Times reports on the implications of Freston’s suit for other families; it opens with the story of 3-year-old Jack LaPierre and his parents, David and Kim, of Springfield, New Jersey. The LaPierres, who have more than $60,000 on tuition and therapy for Jack, are suing the Springfield school district to pay for Jack’s education.
The LaPierres’ battle to win reimbursement for pre-school tuition and therapy has seesawed along with the Freston case.
When a federal court held that Mr. Freston should have tried public school, New Jersey administrators and courts dismissed the LaPierres’ case. When Mr. Freston won on appeal, the LaPierres went to federal court.
The Springfield school system declined to be interviewed. The LaPierres say they hope the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Freston case will help them.
“Even though it didn’t come out for a conclusive yes or no, it didn’t come out with a no,” Mr. LaPierre said.
Michael Best, the chief lawyer for New York City’s Education Department, suggests that parents are simply taking advantage of the chance for a “free” education for their children: “’When people realize that they can get something for free at the government’s expense, you see more and more people take advantage.’” But Kim Sweet, the executive director of Advocates for Children, a nonprofit group that handles special education lawsuits, notes that “’Most of these parents are simply desperate to get their child to a place where they are not going to languish.’” Maybe in New York city, as Best points out, some parents seeking private placements are “very famous and very wealthy singers and actors,” but not where I live in suburban New Jersey.
What I hope for is better and more public school programs that can provide the right kind of education for autistic students across the spectrum. I suppose some think me overly optimistic to think that a public school district with many students could provide an education for a disabled child that is similar to that of a small private school. An advantage of a public program is that it is public, and any student who lives in the town can attend; while I certainly appreciate the efforts of special ed lawyers, I would far rather spend my dollars on the teachers and therapists who spend their days with Charlie, in a school not far from where we live.
That makes sense to me and I hope it might to others, too.
From the COPAA article I posted in the previous comment,
“…Use of public funds to pay for private schools is expressly authorized by law in those cases when the public schools fail to provide the free appropriate education required to meet a child’s unique needs.
Parents should not be forced to put their children in inadequate special-education programs and wait for them to fail or flounder before seeking redress. A year of education lost means only further harm to the child.
Unfortunately, 32 years after IDEA’s enactment, children with disabilities nationwide continue to receive inadequate and ineffective educations, and most states fail to comply with IDEA’s most essential requirements, according to the presidentially-appointed National Council on Disability. ..”
There are also relevant comments on the relative cost of Special Education as part of an entire budget, the demographics of SPED families, the expenditures of districts to fight private placement and the proportion of private placements.
Oh yeah and has this woman been to a public school in alabama?If I dont get help from the gov. soon I will be going to a school that this year is over crowded, but also the water is brown, it has a cockroach infestation, and the lockers are all broken so people can steal your stuff.Stick that in you uppity up fancy pipe and smoke it!
I have aspergers and I would like to go to private school.I do not agree on what the woman above said about public school.An average high school has many children which means its louder,and more intimidating.For a child with aspergers it is a nightmare.Any parent would agree that they want the best education for there child.If they cant get it from the public school but the government could help let them.Why make the child suffer.
Furthermore, the woman said the parents were trying to take advantage!That makes me mad most of all.She acts like the parent made there child have the learning disability for there own gain!That is completely stupid, what does she think happened somebody asked the parent “Ok your child can be completely healthy….or they can have a learng disability to get free stuff!” Lady your completely wrong!
Great—thanks very much.
Just another response to this case and surrounding issues,
Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
The COPAA Board of Directors responded to the March 21, 2007 New York Times’ article, “Fighting for When Public Should Pay Private Tuition for Disabled.”
http://www.copaa.org/news/nyt-response.html
Training is key: you’ve hit it right on the head. There have been times when I (the classroom teacher) was the autism expert. Our district is growing and learning, and the services for autism are improving. It continues to be challenging and expensive to meet all children’s needs, especially those in special ed.
“A more reasonable test would be whether the public school is adequate, not whether it can match the best available care.”
We’ve been fortunate to have found a school district that seems to be able to provide an “adequate,” and even more than adequate, education for my son. I have seen the private school autism programs that parents like the LaPierres seek to get their children into and many have resources that many public schools simply do not have access to.
On the other hand, many districts do seem to be trying to provide a lower ratio of students to teachers, but they do not necessarily how to train aides and staff to best serve students. But, they do have the personnel—and why not, then, train them in the ways that can help a child best?
I have myself attended public and private schools at various times in my own education and was fortunate to have had more resources—especially wonderful teachers—that certainly helped me. I currently teach and work at a small Catholic college that does not have such resources but I certainly strive to provide my students with an above “adequate” education—as a teacher trying to do the best by her students, I feel I could do no less.
While the teachers in my son’s school have a lot of resources at their disposal, I also know that you can teach a child like Charlie with far fewer resources. It’s the training of the teachers and aides that is the most crucial thing, to me.
Saw this thread after reading the NYT article about the Lapierres.
Surely the test of a public school program is not whether it can be made equivalent to a small private school. Any child, disabled or not, could be better off at a private school with more teachers who have more training than at a typical public school.
A more reasonable test would be whether the public school is adequate, not whether it can match the best available care.
David
…while I certainly appreciate the efforts of special ed lawyers, I would far rather spend my dollars on the teachers and therapists who spend their days with Charlie, in a school not far from where we live.
I would ask you to spend some time in some of the “red state” schools and then reconsider. Education, to begin with, is not really a top priority. Then add the additional challenge of educating a special needs child. It is doubtful that this minority will ever be a priority in the land of Friday Night Lights…
Sorry to be so pessimistic. Unfortunately, I’ve lived it and am happy now to be living in Massachusetts. The disparity would shock you…
The public school program that my son is currently in is better than some private ones (imho). It’s very good to have Charlie close enough that we can make regular school visits and so that he does not have a long bus road. Also, I appreciate the supervision and oversight—some of the regulations—-that are part of being in a public school setting. Glad to hear that your son is doing well!
I think the situation depends on both the child and the school system. We are blessed that our school system has a good program and that my son is doing very well. I know this is not the case for everyone. I also believe that the public school systems should be allowed the chance to provide the education first before an out-of-district placement is considered. All private schools are not necessarily superior (I know of a couple of cases which did not work out) so there needs to be oversight if government money is paying for a private placement.
I agree, though, that some public school systems just aren’t providing what the kids need and that needs to change.
I can see both sides.
Of course the hope makes sense, Kristina. But, as you already know, sometimes the reality of public school for a child with special educational needs is not just mediocre. In Nik’s case, it was actually damaging; by the time he would finish a week in preschool he was nearly non-functional. Unfortunately, we don’t have any private schools near us that we could even look into. My options for my (almost) 4 year old were send him out of state for a day program (roughly an hour from home each way on a bus) or home-school. Choosing the latter was our best and only real option. But even that has pitfalls as my state has legally classified homeschooling as “nonpublic” and,as such, not eligible to receive any services or funding available through IDEA.
The up side, though, is that Nik does receive services through Medicaid due to his concomitant medical conditions. The change, as you have seen in my blog, in 6 weeks out of school is nothing short of amazing.
So add to the questions you raised, “Who pays for what when public school is detrimental and there are no private programs in your area? What avenues are available to families then?”