School for the Deaf denies deaf child with Down Syndrome placement

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deafdyke said:
But the thing you're missing is that it was not a clear cut case. We all acknowledge that mild/ higher end of moderate MR kids can be served well at a Deaf School, especially one with a special needs program. (and I think the gross majority of them do) But kids who are on the more severe end of the MR spectrum (if they are deaf) have deafness as a secondary disabilty. It's really hard to serve severe multihandicapped secondary disabilty kids, especially b/c Deaf Schools are ACADEMIC.
It's exactly like how a typical Resource Room/Sped program can serve kids with mild issues (eg LD, ADD minimal accomondation dhh and blind/low vision kids) but they're generally not equipted to educate kids with more complex issues. Even kids with more severe LDs may fall through the cracks.
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No, I'm really not missing anything actually. It is not a private school, it is a large state special school and you cannot deny a student based on a secondary disability. Her primary category of eligibility is deafness, and even if it weren't she would still be entitled to peers and staff who use her primary mode of communication.

Honestly, I'm a bit surprised at the responses on this thread. Here is a deaf student who uses ASL as her primary mode of communication. Some are suggesting a severely handicapped class, with peers who may also have a cognitive disability but no hearing loss. So basically, she'd be in a class where at best she can communicate with her teachers. How is that appropriate exactly?
 
What would your response be DD, if the deaf school you applied to said, " sorry, we can't take students who are LD. It would be too difficult and we don't have a class for that."
 
Foxrac said:
Yup, in Alabama, there is Helen Keller School (HKS) that under AIDB for deaf students with down syndrome, however well educated deaf students with down syndrome can go to ASD so it is depends on cases.
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I've seen at least one kid with Down Syndrome and more with other forms of autism in ASD.

Depends on the school, I guess?
 
Daredevel7 said:
I've seen at least one kid with Down Syndrome and more with other forms of autism in ASD.

Depends on the school, I guess?
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If it is a small private school, then I guess they have a bit more leeway in terms of who they accept. The fact is though, that there are federal anti-discrimination laws for a reason. Obviously it's needed, which is very sad.
 
CSign said:
What would your response be DD, if the deaf school you applied to said, " sorry, we can't take students who are LD. It would be too difficult and we don't have a class for that."
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I know this isn't directed to me, but I would get placement in a school that has a program tailored to me, as I would hope to get the best education possible without getting hung up on one little part of my being.
 
Bottesini said:
I know this isn't directed to me, but I would get placement in a school that has a program tailored to me, as I would hope to get the best education possible without getting hung up on one little part of my being.
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Right, but what if the school for the deaf were the only placement option that could offer peers and staff who used sign language? Would you forego the ability to communicate, to be in a class strictly for people with _____ (fill in the blank)? The ability to communicate is fundamental, what is the life of a person who has no one to communicate with???? How would you benefit from that placement when you don't know what's going on?
 
CSign said:
Right, but what if the school for the deaf were the only placement option that could offer peers and staff who used sign language? Would you forego the ability to communicate, to be in a class strictly for people with _____ (fill in the blank)? The ability to communicate is fundamental, what is the life of a person who has no one to communicate with???? How would you benefit from that placement when you don't know what's going on?
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I don't think that is the only possiblity in the first place since ASL is used so much in classrooms for kids with disabilities that have low verbal abilities in addition. The DS kids don't need to be deaf to benefit from ASL. So I am actually quite certain that there is a program like that in such a high population state.

And if she is very low functioning, she would probably benefit more in a classroom with a signing aid even if every student did not use ASL.

Throw a low functioning kid into a classroom that is full of deaf kids with normal intelligence, and she is just going to sink to the bottom.

And she is going to be bullied extremely, which is going to also send her self esteem plummeting.
 
CSign said:
If it is a small private school, then I guess they have a bit more leeway in terms of who they accept. The fact is though, that there are federal anti-discrimination laws for a reason. Obviously it's needed, which is very sad.
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No, it's actually a state funded school. Their enrollment seems REALLY low now, so I suspect that they have more leeway in acceptance because of this. That's just my opinion.

I don't know enough about special needs in deaf schools. However, I AM curious about one thing... what do HEARING kids with special needs do? Where do they go?
 
Daredevel7 said:
No, it's actually a state funded school. Their enrollment seems REALLY low now, so I suspect that they have more leeway in acceptance because of this. That's just my opinion.

I don't know enough about special needs in deaf schools. However, I AM curious about one thing... what do HEARING kids with special needs do? Where do they go?
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http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/sd/results.asp?Nocache=5/12/2011+8:03:59+AM

In California, the above link has about six pages of options.
 
I know FSDB has a special needs dept for Deaf/Blind students.
 
California Public School Directory

Search Results
Search Criteria: Public Schools; Type - Special Education Schools (Public); Status - Active/Pending

1 - 25 of 140 schools (click on the County Name, District Name, or School heading links to re-sort the results)
CDS Code County Name District Name Select School name below for details Status Zip Code
01100176106751 Alameda Alameda County Office of Education Alameda County Special Education Active 94544-1136
01611500130047 Alameda Castro Valley Unified Roy A. Johnson High Active 94546-4704
01612596098701 Alameda Oakland Unified Hillside Academy Active 94605
01612590121228 Alameda Oakland Unified Young Adult Program Active 94608-4536
03100330330068 Amador Amador County Office of Education Amador County Special Education Active 95642-2020
04100416069256 Butte Butte County Office of Education Butte County Special Education Active 95965-4854
04614240430215 Butte Chico Unified Loma Vista Active 95926
05100586077150 Calaveras Calaveras County Office of Education Calaveras County Special Education (SELPA) Active 95221
06100666069264 Colusa Colusa County Office of Education Colusa County Special Education Active 95932-2630
07100740107334 Contra Costa Contra Costa County Office of Education Central County Special Education Programs Active 94507
07100740107342 Contra Costa Contra Costa County Office of Education East County Elementary Special Education Active 94509
07100740107326 Contra Costa Contra Costa County Office of Education Far East County Programs Active 94513
07100746077168 Contra Costa Contra Costa County Office of Education Floyd I. Marchus Active 94520
07100740118208 Contra Costa Contra Costa County Office of Education Heritage CCCOE Special Education Programs Active 94513
07617546004238 Contra Costa Mt. Diablo Unified Sunrise (Special Education) Active 94519-1352
09100906069470 El Dorado El Dorado County Office of Education Special Education Active 95667-8984
10101086069488 Fresno Fresno County Office of Education Fresno County Special Education Local Plan Active 93721-2002
10621661030717 Fresno Fresno Unified Florence E. Rata Active 93711-2098
10621666112619 Fresno Fresno Unified Fulton Special Education Active 93703
10621666116651 Fresno Fresno Unified Irwin O. Addicot Elementary Active 93726-6406
11101166077184 Glenn Glenn County Office of Education Glenn County Special Education Active 95988-2739
12101246077192 Humboldt Humboldt County Office of Education Glen Paul Active 95503
13101326069272 Imperial Imperial County Office of Education Imperial County Special Education Active 92243-9621
15633216009112 Kern Bakersfield City Rafer Johnson Childrens Center Active 93304-1507
15101576069496 Kern Kern County Office of Education Kern County Special Educat
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This is a copy of page one.
 
CSign said:
So a little update. I filed a compliance complaint on behalf of the parents/student. A very well respected law firm has taken the case, and we are just waiting to see the schools next move. Hopefully we will be able to get the situation resolved without going to Due Process; but if we can't, I feel good about the fact that the family has the expert support of one of the best firms available.
Compliance complaints typically take about 60 days to come to a resolution so we just have to be patient. If it does end up going to DP, I'll post the information because at that point it will be a matter of public record. I just hope and pray we can come to a positive resolution before that happens.
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How did you manage to file a complaint on the parent's behalf. And which school are you suing? The home district, who has in reality, been the one to fail to provide appropriate placement and/or accommodations, or the deaf school that is simply in a contractual position with home school districts? Due process would be against the home school district.
 
jillio said:
How did you manage to file a complaint on the parent's behalf. And which school are you suing? The home district, who has in reality, been the one to fail to provide appropriate placement and/or accommodations, or the deaf school that is simply in a contractual position with home school districts? Due process would be against the home school district.
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No, DP would be against the school for the deaf actually.
 
CSign said:
Right, but what if the school for the deaf were the only placement option that could offer peers and staff who used sign language? Would you forego the ability to communicate, to be in a class strictly for people with _____ (fill in the blank)? The ability to communicate is fundamental, what is the life of a person who has no one to communicate with???? How would you benefit from that placement when you don't know what's going on?
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That is unrealistic. The school system is not obliged to offer peers that sign, nor staff that signs. They are simply obliged to provide equal access to academic content. That can be accomplished with a terp. You are misinterpreting the LRE compared to the way the law interprets the LRE. The LRE is always considered to be the home school district with accommodation. You are in for a fight trying to get them to see it otherwise.

Not trying to discourage you, just warning you to be prepared. And if this lawyer has no experience with deaf placement options, you better start gathering stacks and stacks of research to support your position.
 
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