Supreme Court Hears Case About Special Education Funding

The Supreme Court is to hear a case later this week about the state's responsibility in paying for the private education of children with special needs which cannot be properly accommodated in the public school system.

Excerpts form the Washington Post Article: Court Weighs Funding for Special Education

"The Supreme Court will consider a question this week that has riled parents, cost local school boards here and across the country hundreds of millions of dollars, and vexed the justices themselves: When must public school officials pay for private schooling for children with special needs?

The issue has emerged as one of the fastest-growing components of local education budgets, threatening to "seriously deplete public education funds," which would then detract from the care of students with disabilities who remain in the system, according to a brief filed by the nation's urban school districts.
...
Congress and the court have made it clear that every child with disabilities has a right to a "free appropriate public education." If the school system can't provide one for a child with a disability, it must reimburse parents for private school costs.

But the question for the court now is whether schools must be given a first chance to provide those services before placing the child in a private school. Some parents say that could force students, especially poor ones, to spend time in an undesirable situation before getting the help they really need...."

for full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042602249.html?hpid=topnews

The Obama Administration told the courts that any decision but giving the students rights would be absurd.

Just because someone has not received previous help does not mean that they don't need help now. Through providing public education, it must be accessible to all so that no children suffer form the system. This seems to be constantly applying to kids with special needs, fighting to get what they need.

But what about all of the kids who never get diagnosed or get help? If the school is constantly trying to get itself out of paying for private school costs, than what about all of those kids that don't have a parent advocating for them? If the schools are not pro-active in helping kids with special needs, then who will be?