[blindkid] {Disarmed} Texas school For The Blind warns of litigations under budget cuts,

[H. Field]

Texas schools warn of litigation under budget cuts*
Monday, February 07, 2011
BY SOMMER INGRAM
Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas --- Texas school districts could see an increase 
in
lawsuits if special needs children are refused admission to the 
School
for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the School for the Deaf 
because
of cuts in the proposed state budget, superintendents told 
senators Monday.
Senators on the finance committee heard from superintendents of 
both
schools, who said they are required under federal law to enroll 
students
who cannot be adequately served by their local school districts.
Bill Daugherty, superintendent for the School for the Blind and
Visually Impaired, said if forced to operate with less money as 
proposed
under the state Senate's draft budget, the school won't be able 
to
enroll new students who have a legal right to a "free, 
appropriate
education" under the federal Individuals with Disabilities 
Education Act.
He warned that parents of blind children have not hesitated in 
the
past to sue if their children are not provided adequate services, 
and
that restoring the funding that the Senate bill takes away would
decrease the likelihood of litigation.
The school has no mechanism to cap enrollment, instead placing
students on a wait list until a spot becomes available. 
Daugherty said
students currently have to wait about one month, but that under 
Senate
Bill 1 the wait list would effectively bar enrollment.
The School for the Deaf, which has a legal obligation to accept
students referred by local school districts for admission, faces 
similar
obstacles.
With more than 500 students and enrollment steadily increasing, 
the
school can't sustain the 10 percent cut lawmakers are proposing 
without
cutting personnel and making drastic changes in services, 
superintendent
Claire Bugen said.
Students remain in local school districts if they are refused 
admission.
The schools for the blind and deaf serve some of the most complex
learners in the state, and a majority of the students have more 
than one
disability. Bugen said only 30 percent of their students have a 
single
disability, she said.
The School for the Blind and Visually Impaired is requesting 15 
more
teachers and staff, and had hoped for an additional $1.4 million 
to
cover the cost of providing an education for 12 to 16 new 
students.
Daugherty said the school is also seeking funds to update 
technology.
The School for the Deaf wants 18 new teachers and staff. Bugen 
said the
proposed cuts would force the school to lose an overnight 
physician,
leaving sick students to be administered by a dorm parent not a 
medical
expert.
In the face of a $27 billion budget shortfall, Sen. Steve Ogden,
R-Bryan, said "it may be appropriate in some cases to charge 
tuition."
Bugen said that is not allowed under federal law.
"I don't have a mechanism to do that. I think we're going to 
cross into
federal issues under IDEA (Individuals With Disabilities 
Education Act)
when you start talking about charging parents," she said.
In public schools, deaf students often can't find interpreters or 
the
specialized education necessary, leaving many otherwise capable 
students
unable to function.
Neil Leach, the father of a daughter who was born deaf, said his
daughter's experiences in mainstream public school were 
"unbelievable."
She was required to go to music class, went days without having 
an
interpreter and wasn't exposed to visual learning, he said.
Since enrolling at the School for the Deaf, her reading has 
jumped
nearly three grade levels and she has a teacher who is fluent in
American Sign Language.
"Has anyone up here had a deaf child who needs special 
education?" he
asked the senators. "It's a completely different education. To 
charge
tuition would be ridiculous."
Source:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/02/07/2829535/texas-could-be-su
ed-for-education.html
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