Students

Schools had been in session for two or three weeks when The Arc got a call from the mother of a five-year old student. Her son was being evaluated by his school to confirm his diagnosis of autism. She was calling seeking help because her five-year old son has already been suspended and sent home twice since the beginning of school! How is this possible?

“Special education students [sic] in Texas public schools are nearly twice as likely to be suspended as students in the general education population, according to recent Texas Education Agency testimony,” reports The Texas Tribune’s Kate Ergenbright.

TEA found that for every 100 students receiving special education supports, there were 55.8 in-school suspensions and 25.1 out of school-of-school suspensions.

The mom of one student who was sent home five times last year feels, “Teachers don’t know how to deal with special education kids, so it gets to a level where they will explode because they are tired of dealing with this kid.”

If over taxed professionals is part of the problem then consider that this year legislators are looking at billions of dollars less to provide services. This coupled with the astonishing finding that the number of students with autism in public schools grew 404 percent from 1999 to 2009, a statistic Committee Chair Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, called “mind-boggling.”

Caregivers must understand not only students’ rights, but effective suggestions and techniques to offer the IEP team. The sections on discipline and behaviors in It’s a New IDEA from The Arc of Texas and Advocacy, Inc. is packed with good information for students, families and education professionals.

Have you had a troubling experience with your student being inappropriately disciplined or do you have a terrific success story? Please tell us about it. It always seems as if the most effective ideas come from sharing with others.