Go to home page

HOW A SOCIETY addresses the educational needs of its chil- dren with disabilities speaks volumes about its level of enlightenment. Certainly parents facing the challenges of raising a child with special needs deserve as many reasonable options as possible.

Recently, in Forest Grove School District vs. T.A., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that such parents are not required to send a child to public school before qualifying for public funding to help pay for private school. The court isn't pretending to offer an educational panacea to these families, but rather an option that many will appreciate.

Simply having a child with disabilities doesn't make a parent an expert on the issue, and one would hope that parents would avail themselves of expert advice and research before settling on a course of action. Every child is different, and the needs of each child with disabilities should be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The court ruling means that parents, if they see fit, may bypass the requirement that children with disabilities give public school a try before they qualify for private-school tuition assistance. Those families who conclude that private school is the proper route must still find a program tailored to their child's needs, and they must also front the cost because the public funds come as reimbursements. How much red tape that might entail is another question observers pose.

The challenge for public schools has always been providing mandated special-ed programs with limited resources. Some schools have developed well-received accommodations, studies suggest, while others have been accused by parents of marginalizing or compartmentalizing disabled children.

Educators say the ruling will have little impact other than having slightly fewer children with disabilities enrolled. The requirement to try public schools was based on the possibility of a mainstreaming epiphany for child and family that might otherwise be missed. The high court's three dissenters on the issue, Justices David Souter, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas, remain averse to the "academic segregation" of children in disability-dedicated schools.

That may be an honorable position. But in the end, for parents convinced that the private-school setting is best for their children, the choice can now be theirs to make.