CNN - Lawsuit will change special ed programs

CNN - Lawsuit will change special ed programs - Dec. 12, 1995 CNN U.S. News

December 12, 1995
Web posted at: 12:55 a.m. EST

From Correspondent Anne McDermott

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- The Los Angeles Unified School District on Monday announced a settlement of a lawsuit that will include a major overhaul of the district's special education programs, bringing them into line with federal guidelines.

The lawsuit was filed by Eliza Thompson, who was incensed when her teen-age daughter could not get into one of the programs even though dyslexia was causing her to fail in school.

"I kept asking for help. I wanted help," Thompson said. "I was crying out, hand out, verbally speaking out. No one heard me."

The school board heard Thompson's lawsuit, however. The settlement ultimately could lead to the mainstreaming of thousands of students -- not all, of course, but those who could benefit from the change.

And the settlement also calls for earlier identification of children with special needs, like Thompson's daughter Chanda Smith.

Mark Rosenblum, director of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, hailed the settlement as a landmark decision.

"This case represents the 'Brown v. Board of Education' for special education," he said, referring to the landmark court case on racial integration of schools. (60K AIFF sound or 60K WAV sound)

There are more than half a million children in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and one in 10 of them are enrolled in special education programs. How much the coming changes will cost the financially strapped district , which has already pared its budget by more than a billion dollars in the past six years, is a big question.

The district's lawyer admits he doesn't know. School board member David Tokofsky said that the lack of a price tag worries him because he believes the district's quality of education is already too low.

"It's not just special education, but all public school kids are receiving a third-class education," said Tokofsky, the lone board member to vote against the settlement. (85K AIFF sound or 85K WAV sound)

But others say the cost doesn't matter -- the district must follow the law, and follow the morality of giving special education children a little equality.

"This is going to add to the three R's," said Richland Elementary Principal Romero Gogue. "It's also going to add the word 'respect.'"

The settlement does come a little late for Eliza Thompson's daughter, but the attention that followed the lawsuit's filing did get the child some help. And, thanks to that, Chanda Smith will be attending college next year. And for Thompson, that is the most important thing.

"When it comes to education...," she said, "you know, without a mind of education, you have nothing." (85K AIFF sound or 85K WAV sound)