Hartford Schools Fall Short in Special Education Testing

If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100.

When it comes to the parlance of federal special education law, the true definition of a "free and appropriate public education" has been the stuff suits are made of. But Attorney Lynn B. Cochrane can tell you what a free and appropriate education is not.

It isn't waiting two years for an educational assessment that could spell the difference between some measure of success and failure for a student with cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The Hartford School District's delays in providing such assessments led Cochrane, of Greater Hartford Legal Aid, and attorney Hannah Benton, of the Center for Children's Advocacy, to seek state intervention.

Recently, they got it. The state Department of Education has ordered the Hartford district to speed up assessments or risk violating federal and state laws guaranteeing students with special needs an appropriate education.

Generally, Cochrane said, assessments are supposed to be done "as soon as possible, but no later than 45 school days."

"You're talking about a child's school year. If you're talking about six months, you're talking more than half a school year," she said.

Cochrane and Benton cited delays in the assessments of 11 students in their complaint to the state Department of Education, which accused the district of systematically and pervasively denying students their rights under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and related state law. Under the laws, such assessments are recommended by a team of educators and parents whenever a special education student is not making adequate progress.

The complaint concerned neuropsychological, reading, speech and language and assistive technology assessments. In the case of the student with cerebral palsy, the assistive technology assessment could have resulted in modification of computers so that the student could answer questions with buttons and switches, Cochrane said.

"Basically what you see with these kids is they're not making the progress they should be making," Benton said. "The Planning and Placement Team is saying, 'We don't have enough information.' That's where the delay is coming in."

Doctor's Departure

For its part, the district said in a response to the complaint that it has had difficulty handling the neuropsychological assessments after the departure in August 2010 of the doctor who was doing them. It has been trying to replace him since then.

It also cited difficulties in attracting speech and language specialists and described unexpected delays in training of staff by an outside reading consultant. The district hired a contractor for assistive technology assessments last December and is trying to get those on track, according to a letter from Superintendent Steven J. Adamowski and other administrators to the educational consultant hired by the Department of Education to investigate the complaint.

Special education is governed by federal law and a state law that largely mirrors federal mandates, said attorney Michael P. McKeon, who has represented school districts in special education matters for 18 years. Ever since the first federal education law was passed in the 1970s, school districts have struggled with meeting often costly mandates.

"Sometimes parents will demand out-ofdistrict placements, some in excess of $300,000 a year," said McKeon, of Sullivan Schoen Campane and Connon in Hartford.

A reimbursement formula under the law requires the state to kick in funding once special education costs reach 4.5 times of average per pupil expenditures, he said. But the cost to the districts before that can add up fast.

Disabilities can range from minor issues to major physical, emotional or cognitive impediments to learning. One of the cases outlined in the complaint concerned a second-grader who suffered cognitive and emotional disabilities after being the victim of abuse, including repeated head banging.

Under the law, parents can request a full hearing before the state Department of Education or file a compliance complaint, as was the case here. McKeon said there are some 350 requests for hearings each year, with school districts responsible for attorneys' fees for parents who prevail.

Benton acknowledged that some school districts may feel overwhelmed at times and that the federal mandate has not been matched by adequate federal dollars. There are about 3,000 special education students in the Hartford district.

" That's sort of the $5 billion question," Benton said. "There are a lot of different barriers to fully implementing the special education law. What I see most often in my case work is that parents don't even know what their own rights are. There's also a big movement that has gained some steam in the last few years to really get the federal government to provide more funding for special education services. The federal burden is really low."

In the final analysis though, Benton said school districts must comply with the law and parents should assert their children's rights. "You have schools that are really overwhelmed, addressing all the learning needs with their students," she said. "Sometimes it's easier to kind of try to gloss over the problems."

If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

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Source- Marie P. Grady, Hartford Schools Fail Special Education Test; Attorneys push for state order to expedite student assessments, 37 Conn. Law Tribune 36, Sep 5, 2011, at 6