Disabled Students Could Lose School

As the school year draws to a close, Marty Schwartzman knows his autistic sons chances of returning to the classroom where he has learned to socialize, read and write are slimmer than past years.
He worries that, come the end of the summer, he may be scrambling to find a placement in one of the citys few special education schools suitable for his son, Robby.
The reason for the uncertainty: 70 students64 of whom are from the citycurrently attending the School for Language and Communication Development (SLCD) in Glen Cove, Long Island, may be forced to transfer to another school, due to State Education Department restrictions enacted in 2001. The restrictions limit the number of children who may attend a special education school in New York and place a moratorium on their grade expansions.
"Its just a horrible process," said Schwartzman, a Bayside resident, who recently met with his sons Committee on Special Education (CSE) and learned that Robby, a fifth grader, is not likely returning to SLCD. "They are not being fair."
Every disabled student in the state has a CSE, which consists of the childs parent, the childs school district psychologist and speech language pathologist, a person from the social service agency representing the child and the childs teacher. The committee meets annually to evaluate the child and assess the best schooling arrangement.
Robby was given the green light to attend the private special education school four years ago. At the time, his CSE decided no city schools could adequately meet his needs. Because of its decision, Robbys CSE gave the family a Nickerson lettera notice saying the city will pay tuition for any non-public state-approved schooland, after evaluating various schools, his parents chose SLCD.
But since the State Education Department instituted the restrictions, special education schools have faced a yearly battle to retain their students. In the case of SLCD, the school is certified to teach preschoolers to third graders. However, under its current restrictions, the State Education Department wants to "age out" students who are eight and older, removing them from their current classrooms and returning them to public schools special education programs. This comes despite the insistence by SLCDs principal, Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman, that her school has trained faculty and staff to accommodate higher grade levels, and despite the wishes of parents who claim the schools classrooms are the best fit for their child.
"Why is it that every year we have to go through this upheaval, especially as children get older?" asked Nancy Rella, a Douglaston resident, whose son, Jordan, suffers from a severe language disability known as apraxia. "There are very few options for us."
Rellas son is a third-grader at SLCD facing the possibility of being "aged out." Jordan started as a preschooler. His parents chose SLCD because, in the beginning, his condition required sign languagea service that not many schools offer non-hearing-impaired students, Rella said. He also receives speech therapy five times a week.
Now, at nine, Jordan has just started forming basic sentences.
"Thats all because of therapy he has gotten there," she said.
Though state restrictions were enacted in 2001, SLCD parents have received year-to-year variances, allowing them to keep their children in the school past third grade. Currently, SLCD has classes up to seventh grade. The extensions are partly due to a lack of suitable alternatives for the students. Another part is a lawsuit brought against the State Education Department by SLCD and parents, which accuses the agency of illegally discriminating against children with disabilities. The lawsuit has been pending for three years, but goes to trial this week.
SLCD parents believe that this year their childrens CSEs, under the instructions of the State Education Department, have either purposely delayed their annual meetings or, in the case of city students, have deferred placement decisions to the Department of Educations Central Base Support team.
"In the past my district was always cooperative with us," Rella said. "They understood his needs and that SLCD was the best place for him."
Now Rella, who will meet with her sons CSE in June, fears they will either force her son to another school or delay a decision.
Normally parents meet with their childs CSEs in February and March, giving them enough time to find an appropriate alternative school if their childs current placement is deemed unsuitable. But this year, meetings for SLCD students have been held as late as May and June. And some of the decisions, like Robby Schwartzmans, have been deferred to the Department of Educations (DOE) Central Base Support Teams, which hold additional meetings that can take place as late as August.
"By delaying the meeting, they are hoping something is being resolved," said Marty Schwartzman, referring to the outcome of the lawsuit. But Schwartzman said a late decision makes it much more difficult to find a good alternative school for Robby.
"The longer you wait, any of the good programs fill up," he said.
Citing federal laws that prohibit states from interfering with placement decisions, SLCD principal Dr. Tiegerman said the State Education Department is acting illegally by specifically telling CSEs not to keep students at the Glen Cove school.
"This is really an abuse of state power," said Tiegerman.
An e-mail written by the State Education Department in late February, which was obtained by The Queens Courier, appears to confirm its involvement in placement decisions. In it, DOE officials and their CSEs are instructed that, though variances were issued in the past, during this years annual reviews, they could not continue to recommend any student who is over the age of eight as of December 12, 2004, to SLCD.
Schwartzman said that his son has thrived at SLCD because of the schools language-oriented approach and its philosophy of socializing lower-functioning students with higher-functioning ones.
If he is left scrambling in late August to find an alternative for his son, Schwartzman said the odds are he would be home-schooled.
"That is the worst possible thing you can do for a child with autism," he said. "Theres no structure and no socialization."