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1 in 8 students in #CA have a physical, cognitive or learning disability. As a mother to a son with autism, this is personal.
Are students with disabilities getting the care they deserve in our schools? (thread)
Are students with disabilities getting the care they deserve in our schools? (thread)
Disabled students have long struggled to get the care they need & deserve from school districts. LAUSD was sued in 1993 for failing to provide adequate care for disabled students, and only recently did they regain full control of their programming. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-08-20/la-schools-regain-full-control-of-programs-for-its-64-500-disabled-students
Many charter schools enroll fewer students with disabilities, especially those with more severe disabilities, leading to a disproportionate burden on public schools. In LA, charters enroll 11% disabled students, compared to 14% in other schools.
https://www.utla.net/sites/default/files/report_-_final.pdf
https://www.utla.net/sites/default/files/report_-_final.pdf
Many students with disabilities don’t get the care they deserve. Indeed, they are disciplined at roughly twice the rate as other students.
https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/02/28/report-disciplined-twice/24783/#:~:text=As%20shown%20in%20other%20research,26%20percent%20had%20been%20expelled.
https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/02/28/report-disciplined-twice/24783/#:~:text=As%20shown%20in%20other%20research,26%20percent%20had%20been%20expelled.
This is particularly problematic given that a disproportionate number of students with disabilities are low-income, Black, and Latinx.
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4110#Students_With_Disabilities
https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4110#Students_With_Disabilities
Even for students with disabilities who attend private schools, many cannot get all the care they need at their school. Many must go back and forth between public & private schools to access the full care they need, such as to see a speech therapist.
Distance learning during COVID-19 has been especially hard for many students with disabilities, leading one parent to note: "[the district] should pay me for doing the teachers’ job because online learning does not work for students with special needs.” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-07/covid-19-distance-learning-weakens-special-education
Even before COVID, schools struggled to adequately serve disabled students, partly because of the cost. School districts are expected to pay for the majority of the costs for special needs programs - 61% now, up from 49% a decade ago.
Students with disabilities tend to need smaller class sizes & more individualized care. On average, it costs $26,000 to educate a disabled student, compared to $9,000 for a “general education” student. https://edsource.org/2019/california-spending-over-13-billion-annually-on-special-education/619542
Every student is guaranteed a “free appropriate public education” by the federal government. Therefore, when public schools are unable to provide adequate education for students with disabilities, they must pay for students to go to private schools.
In 2018, that impacted an estimated 2300 students in California & cost the state millions, without improving the educational services offered in our public schools.
While the federal government mandated districts provide resources for disabled students, they failed to fund it. Indeed, there’s an estimated $3.2 billion gap between what the fed government should be paying for education and what they are. https://edsource.org/2019/california-spending-over-13-billion-annually-on-special-education/619542
We need to ensure #EducationJustice by investing more in special education programs at the state level. We must increase education funding and guarantee everyone the education they deserve in public schools.
State officials must:
Recruit & train special education teachers
Base special education funding on enrollment of students with disabilities, not just total district enrollment
Advocate for increased federal funding
Remove charters & invest in public schools
Recruit & train special education teachers Base special education funding on enrollment of students with disabilities, not just total district enrollmentAdvocate for increased federal fundingRemove charters & invest in public schools
State officials must also commit to making up gaps in federal funding, instead of expecting school districts to make up the difference. We’ve made some progress in recent bills and budgets, but we still have a long way to go. https://edsource.org/2020/why-special-education-funding-will-be-more-equitable-under-new-state-law/637864
We must also follow the lead of disability justice rights who are helping show the way towards education justice during COVID-19, such as with this list of recommendations from 15 disability rights groups. https://edsource.org/2020/california-should-push-harder-for-special-education-during-school-closures-disability-rights-groups-say/629311
It's time we guarantee all children the education they deserve.
