Portfolio 5 1

Portfolio 5

Education of Students with Disabilities

Stephanie Lara

CSN
Portfolio 5 2

The parents of a child with disabilities approach the high school principal, Debbie

Young. Jonathan is the child that would be the student but he has multiple disabilities that

require constant care by a specialty trained nurse. He is also profoundly mentally disabled, has

spastic quadriplegia, and has a seizure disorder. Principal Young refuses the parents' request due

to an extraordinary expense and a view that the school is not the most appropriate placement for

Jonathan.

First of all as a parent you only want the best for your child whether or not they do or do

not have disabilities. Having a disability does not make you any less important or less of a

individual. Jonathan should have the chance to attend school whether he requires a specialty

trained nurse or not. That is what the special education department is for and the school also

provides nurses.

I do not believe Young's decision is defensible. I can see how she would rather avoid the

liability she sees it would possibly cause with the disabilities that Jonathan has but either way he

is a student and needs to attend school and be learning as well. By having an assigned nurse to

Jonathan's care would lower liability and have him taken care of while he is at school. Also

Young is a principal at a public school and public schools are to allow all children to attend.

In the court case Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret G. ex rel. Charlene

F., 526 U.S. 66 (1999) the court ruled in favor of Garret and supported that continuous nursing

service is a "related service" that the school district was required to provide for under the IDEA.

The court also notes that an IDEA dispute, "is about whether meaningful access to the public

schools will be assured;" by repeating the "meaningful access" standard originally originally

from Rowley.
Portfolio 5 3

If the school was a private school then perhaps the price of the school having to cover

those expenses would be questionable. However the reasonable accommodations and related

services are not. In regards to the Florence County School District Four v. Carter, 510 U.S. 7

(1993). The court discusses the standards to which parents may obtain reimbursement for having

their child in private education. The court determined that reimbursement does not require that

the private schools meet the IDEA's definition standards. A private school does not have to meet

the state education standards. Therefore IDEA's definition of a free appropriate public

education does not meet.

If there are any cases to support discrimination and segregation in schools, they are not

easy to find. Since the Americans with Disabilities movement began and even prior to the

movement, Americans have been fighting for equality and inclusion. A short time ago, as short

as years and even in some communities and schools it is still believed that people should be

segregated. Students with developmental disabilities and medical needs should be locked up in

separate class rooms, many which would be inadequate facilities for any human. This is often

done "for their protection."

However, it becomes a more abusive setting in which the most fundamental human rights

are trampled on. It is often a lack of education or antiquated ideas that "seasoned" educators have

and still try to enforce today. For parents like my friend, who's child has been diagnosed with

AMC and who requires the use of a tracheotomy and ventilator and a full time nurse with him at

school, it is a full time job to re-educate professionals and the public at large. The ADA and

IDEA both have the fundamental idea that all individuals may contribute to their communities

and be part of an integrated community with the proper supports.

Portfolio 5 4

One of the basic lessons in integration and inclusion understands that people are not

disabled. People first language (http://peoplefirstofnevada.org/accomplishments/language-bill/)

should be adopted in every area of the community. It teaches us that people are people and not a

disability. As in the example the child is not disabled, the child has a disability. Understanding

this concept will allow us to overcome the disability by providing proper supports in an

inclusive, integrated less restrictive environment. The court should support Jonathan and see that

he has the nursing care that he needs.

Portfolio 5 5

References

Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garrett F., a minor, by his mother and next friend,

Charlene F. Retrieved October 1, 2015 from

http://www.wrightslaw.com/law/caselaw/ussupct.garret.htm

Crane, Bill. Ten Supreme Court Special Education Cases You Need to Know. Retrieved October

1, 2015 from http://massadvocates.org/billsview/

Florence County School District Four v. Carter, 510 U.S. 7 (1993) Retrieved October 2, 2015

from http://massadvocates.org/florence/

Perez, Santa. Language Bill People First of Nevada Takes Action at the Legislature. Retrieved

October 2, 2015 from http://peoplefirstofnevada.org/accomplishments/language-bill/