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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (217080)	8/26/2007 1:57:35 PM
From: Rambi	Respond to of 793955

I tend to see everything in terms of pendulum swings, and accept that we usually go too far in one direction, and then swing back. We never seem to stop in the middle. Yesterday (I posted this also on Center) there was an article in the Dallas Morning News about a judgment against the Richardson ISD (suburb of Dallas). I found it horrifying. There was certainly a need for IDEA in '75, but over the years it has started to look like theatre of the absurd. Where is common sense? dallasnews.com Judge: Richardson ISD must pay for girl's care Private treatment for behavior disorders could strain schools 08:52 AM CDT on Saturday, August 25, 2007 By MICHAEL GRABELL / The Dallas Morning News mgrabell@dallasnews.com A recent Dallas court ruling has parents of special education students hopeful that more public schools could be required to pay for private care for their children's behavioral disorders. A judge ruled that the Richardson Independent School District had failed to provide an appropriate education, as required by federal disability law, for a student with severe disorders. The case may be the first of its kind because it deals with a new trend in mental health care – private hospitals that have public charter schools on their campuses. As a result, the district will probably have to reimburse the student's parents more than $50,000 for her stay at the hospital. The decision handed down Tuesday might give parents an option to get more public funding for private care of children with behavioral disorders. But special education administrators worry that might put a greater burden on schools to provide social services that the community doesn't. Richardson ISD had argued that the girl's parents withdrew her from her public school and placed her in the private facility for medical reasons because of problems at home, not at school. But the judge sided with the parents' assertion that getting her behavioral problems under control went hand in hand with making progress in her education – a responsibility shared with the schools. "Education is more than reading and writing," said Kay Lambert, who specializes in education policy for disabled-rights group Advocacy Inc. "For a child with a disability, you have to look at the total picture of what the child is going to need in order to be able to function when she gets out of school." Myrna Silver, attorney for the parents of the girl identified in court documents as "Leah Z.," said the case exemplifies the importance of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensures that children with disabilities get a good education. "If it weren't for IDEA, then Leah probably would not have been in public school to begin with," Ms. Silver said. "She probably would have been warehoused somewhere." An attorney for Richardson ISD said she was still reviewing the decision and wouldn't comment on its impact. Story continues at the site.