Submitted by Emily Hill, Oct 12, 2007 17:35

Is the need for special education considered "favoring" a minority over others? Should " the hard-working taxpayers of New York City be required to fork over their hard-earned cash to send the child of one of the city's wealthiest citizens, Thomas Freston, to a private school of his choice because he doesn't want his child, who has special educational needs, to have even to try the special needs education available in the public schools"?

"Special education" by definition is specially designed instruction for any child meeting the eligibility criteria. The assumption is that by virtue of their special needs, there will be instances where a public school program designed primarily to meet the needs of typical children cannot provide an appropriate education for certain special needs children. The IDEA enables parents to seek a private placement for a disabled child if the public school system cannot provide an appropriate one. In fact, the public school systems are REQUIRED to do this. In this case, it was proven the the public placement was inappropriate prior to the reimbursement award.

Consider for a moment that the child in this case requested reimbursement for private tuition in the amount of $21,819. This was actually $4,678 less than it would have cost the average New York City school to educate him.

Seems like everyone would have come out a winner under this scenario, except due to the intransigence of the district, they prostituted the taxpayers of NY who unwittingly funded the the BOE's legal fees for the last decade fighting this justified and modest claim. Chances are after all these years that figure is easily in excess of $1MM , and for what? To prevent the district from saving almost $5,000? That is an atrocity beyond comprehension.

Thank God for a wealthy businessman who could have just as easily opted out of the fight, as so many do, but instead stepped up for decades of a principled pursuit for the sake of those who don't have the same resources, and by that I mean time, energy AND money. What an incredible and selfless service to families who do not have the means to pay attorneys to protect their disabled child's federal rights when they are violated. He is a true hero.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.