Milwaukee Public Schools loses special ed lawsuit - Coming to a District near you soon?

Milwaukee Public Schools loses special ed lawsuit.


http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=660882

See below how the judge answered this one: "lawyers hired by the school district had argued that much of the testimony from the parents was not reliable"


Systemic delay in HCDS was addressed a few years ago. The District has, to the last of my knowledge, a written policy that requires initial evaluations to be initiated within 30 days of parent's signed consent and completed within 60 days of same consent.


Unless the parent knows that the signed consent is the only thing that triggers this timeline (possibly a false premise under Section 504), verbal assurances that the issues will be adressed only delay the timeline. Suspending kids whose behavior is dramatically different from his/her peers (usually a sign that it may be a manifestation of their disability) without the District acknowledging or evaluating the kid for a suspected disability certainly saves money.

Suspending kids sets the stage of "First we blame the kid, then we blame the parent". It absolves the District from providing resources needed to address the manifested behaviors. While the parent is repeatedly assured that the District personnel are trained professionals, the District personnel's ignorance of understanding the concept of "special education" is on full display. This is prevalent with site administrators who have no concept of special ed.

What is the cost to saving money?


<<<<<<<<<"The inability of MPS to reach full compliance with the law in the area of Child Find is not the result of numerous isolated and unrelated cases, but stems from systemic inadequacies," Goodstein wrote. MPS said two years ago that it had spent $1.8 million on its defense, some of which it could possibly recoup through insurance. That was before the three-week-long trial in 2006. Spitzer-Resnick said his group has spent more than $1 million, money it hopes MPS and DPI will now be forced to pay. During the 2006 trial in front of Goodstein, lawyers hired by the school district had argued that much of the testimony from the parents was not reliable. But Goodstein cited specific cases presented at the trial where he judged the district had not addressed students' needs appropriately. Spitzer-Resnick said that throughout the legal proceedings: "We've heard 'It's poverty, it's mobility, it's homelessness.' Guess what? Those excuses are not given any credence by the court or by the law." One of the mothers involved in the lawsuit, whose son's story was chronicled in a December 2005 Journal Sentinel article, said she made repeated requests that her son be tested for learning disabilities. Eventually, the boy was 12 years old but still in the third grade at MPS. He was suspended so often that his mother and teachers sometimes lost track of where he was supposed to be. In another case, one girl cut herself at school and once wrote on her desk: "Kill all people. Solve the problem." While she did well on standardized tests, she couldn't seem to pass the sixth grade. The judge noted that school officials suspended the girl and referred her to a new school - but did not evaluate her for special education until prodded to. "The issue of suspension has an effect on the timely identification of children in need of special education," the judge wrote. "It also had an effect on the timeliness of providing services.">>>>>>>>