Submitted by Tina, Jul 24, 2007 11:47

Because the law (IDEA) states that students with disabilities must be provided a FREE AND APPROPRIATE EDUCATION and that each student must have a INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION PROGRAM (IEP), how can there be a hard and fast rule about where students must be placed first (i.e. the public school)? It is the law that the least restrictive environment be considered, but it may not be the best choice. It is up to the IEP team to make this determination - can the home school provide appropriate service, can another school in the district, or must we look at a private special education school. There cannot be a one-size-fits-all mentality by parents, educators or administrators! In all fairness to school districts, the cost of private placements are prohibitive and many of the children whose parents do not know their rights or cannot work the system are left to sub-standard education for their needs, while other children are very successful in the public school. But there are also parents who are not willing to try the public school setting before seeking a private setting, even when the data and professional observations indicate that the child would be very successful in the public setting with nondisabled peers. These are the situations that frustrate the educators and cause more barriers in the system for those students who truly need the private setting.

I find it hard to believe that Viacom's CEO would really give the public school system a chance, whether his child had a disability or not. In his case, I would like to know what his school did for the child that the public school system could not before granting public funds to be used for a child who would have gone to a private school anyway. Sorry I am so cynical about this specific situation.

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