[blindkid] School placement question

Kieszak, Stephanie (CDC/CCEHIP/NCEH) sek7 at cdc.gov
Thu Dec 11 22:33:26 UTC 2008


I've posted before about our disagreement with the county about school
placement for my daughter.  The county wants us to send her to the
school with the resource 
room; we disagree.  Today her TVI told me she was told last week that
the reason is because the resource room school has a TVI there all day
and they already have the 
necessary technology. She was told it was based on number of hours of
TVI time needed.  Since Kendra is a totally blind Braille reader, they
argue she should be at the 
resource room school while a child with low vision wouldn't need to go
there.  I located the section below on the Wrightslaw website. Is there
other language I'm missing 
which addresses this as well?
Thank you.

> 8. What are the permissible factors that must be considered in
> determining what placement is appropriate for a student with a
> disability? Which factors, if any, may not be considered?
> ANSWER: The overriding rule in placement is that each student's
> placement must be individually-determined based on the individual
> student's abilities and needs. As noted previously, it is the program
> of specialized instruction and related service contained in the
> student's IEP that forms the basis for the placement decision. In
> determining if a placement is appropriate under IDEA, the following
> factors are relevant:
> the educational benefits available to the disabled student in a
> traditional classroom, supplemented with appropriate aids and
> services, in comparison to the educational benefits to the disabled
> student from a special education classroom;
> the non-academic benefits to the disabled student from interacting
> with nondisabled students; and the degree of disruption of the
> education of other students, resulting in the inability to meet the
> unique needs of the disabled student.
> However, school districts may not make placements based solely on
> factors such as the following: 
> *	category of disability; 
> *	severity of disability; 
> *	configuration of delivery system; 
> *	availability of educational or related services; 
> *	availability of space; or 
> *	administrative convenience.
> 
>  http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.osers.memo.idea.htm
> 



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