Laura
05-16-2007, 08:03 AM
This reminds me of my old elementary school, where the special ed kids were sent to a smaller separate schoolyard at recess and only the kids in the "big yard", i.e., the mainstream kids, got to use the jump ropes, red rubber ball, etc.
Disabled in survey snub (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/05/15/2007-05-15_disabled_in_survey_snub.html)
BY ERIN EINHORN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, May 15th 2007, 4:00 AM
The city wants to hear from every parent and teacher about the quality of city schools - except schools that serve kids with special needs.
Parents of children with disabilities are fuming over news that a plan to conduct what Mayor Bloomberg hailed as "the most extensive effort in the history of American education" to survey parents and teachers will this year exclude everyone affiliated with the city's special education district.
"We're part of the New York City public school system, and I would think that if you're going to survey the parents, you'd want to include parents of children with disabilities," said John Englert, who heads a citywide special ed parents group.
The city is spending $3.3 million over three years to collect responses from as many as 1.8 million parents, teachers and students in grades 6 to 12 about the safety, cleanliness and quality of instruction in their schools, among other issues.
But although special education parents participated in focus groups to draft the surveys, school officials say the 350 schools that serve 23,000 kids with severe disabilities in what's called District 75 are too unusual to be included in the same boilerplate survey going out to typical schools.
"It would be like asking about the weather when something very, very serious is happening to your child," said Jim Liebman, the Education Department's top accountability official.
In focus groups, special ed parents complained that the general ed survey didn't address their main concerns, so Liebman said his department decided to make a survey just for them next year, rather than turn them off with an insufficient survey this year.
Disabled in survey snub (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/05/15/2007-05-15_disabled_in_survey_snub.html)
BY ERIN EINHORN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, May 15th 2007, 4:00 AM
The city wants to hear from every parent and teacher about the quality of city schools - except schools that serve kids with special needs.
Parents of children with disabilities are fuming over news that a plan to conduct what Mayor Bloomberg hailed as "the most extensive effort in the history of American education" to survey parents and teachers will this year exclude everyone affiliated with the city's special education district.
"We're part of the New York City public school system, and I would think that if you're going to survey the parents, you'd want to include parents of children with disabilities," said John Englert, who heads a citywide special ed parents group.
The city is spending $3.3 million over three years to collect responses from as many as 1.8 million parents, teachers and students in grades 6 to 12 about the safety, cleanliness and quality of instruction in their schools, among other issues.
But although special education parents participated in focus groups to draft the surveys, school officials say the 350 schools that serve 23,000 kids with severe disabilities in what's called District 75 are too unusual to be included in the same boilerplate survey going out to typical schools.
"It would be like asking about the weather when something very, very serious is happening to your child," said Jim Liebman, the Education Department's top accountability official.
In focus groups, special ed parents complained that the general ed survey didn't address their main concerns, so Liebman said his department decided to make a survey just for them next year, rather than turn them off with an insufficient survey this year.