On July 24, angry parents led a demonstration against a recent policy requiring disabled students within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to move from special education centers to traditional schools.
The protest comes after the announced merging of about 300 disabled students from special needs schools into the general LAUSD population. According to a report in the LA Daily News, district representatives say they are “bound by federal and state law… to mainstream more special-education students [to give them] opportunities to interact with kids at traditional campuses.”
Dr. Frances Stetson, director of the Inclusive Schools Network, says that segregating disabled kids is like racial segregation and that implementation of this new policy will benefit everyone.
In an on-air segment with KPCC’s Larry Mantle, Stetson explained, “In Brown v. Board of Education, we ruled that there is no such thing as separate but equal. I believe that same principle applies to children with disabilities.”
Rhonda Berrios, whose child currently attends the Leichman Special Education Center, disagrees. In the Huffington Post, Berrios noted that because disabled kids are different, schools should consider that they can get hurt either emotionally or physically. Berrios is particularly concerned about bullying, reduced individualized attention and the potential that disabled kids will feel isolated at integrated schools.
“I don’t think the school board should interfere in personal decisions,” said one LAUSD student who has a disabled sibling and wishes to remain anonymous. “The parents know what’s the best for their children, not the school board.”
Dr. Stetson addresses these concerns by stating that all these problems can be remedied through hiring well-trained teachers and therapists, building specialized structures, and integrating other specialized accommodations into the existing environment. She invites parents and staff to work together to create an equal setting for all students.
The policy will be implemented starting this month.
