When Things Aren’t Equal

The Setup

It was the whole faculty meeting and training on the very first day of our contract. We started with a very brief welcome back, recognition of service milestones, and a great breakfast provided by the cafeteria staff. Then some other housekeeping things from the union, the nurse, the district secretaries, and so on. Then [the presenter] was on.

The Player(s)

I had seen [the presenter] before. My school district had used [the presenter] on numerous occasions to provide professional development to our district, to provide mentoring to those who needed or wanted it. [the presenter] wasn’t unknown.

The Sequence

That morning’s session was on special education and the new requirements that had been enacted into law during the last legislative session of the state government. It was purportedly to ensure that the students who received special education services could access the curriculum from within the “regular” classroom.

None of this was new information. This had been the goal for years, but apparently changes in law and application had made it more of a priority.

The Denouement

Our district has served many special needs students. Much of the time, with just a little effort on the teacher and district’s part, special needs students merge right into classroom life and suffer no ill-effects.

There are, however, some students that need much more intensive attention. Perhaps for specific educational purposes, or for behavioral intervention, or medical necessity; but sometimes one student does seem to monopolize a lot of the time, effort, and attention of all school staff – not just the teacher.

An attendee of the meeting presented such a scenario to [the presenter], wanting to know what we do to when the rest of the students in the classroom aren’t receiving their needed attention/help/monitoring/teaching/encouragement… because of one special needs child.

[the presenter] gave the answer I was expecting. I’ve felt this is the way it’s been for a while, but [the presenter] took the bull by the horns and said the quiet part out loud. “Students on an IEP have MORE rights than the rest of the class does.” (emphasis [the presenter]’s)

I wasn’t surprised, but I had never heard anyone in an advisory capacity say such a thing. Those staff members attending the meeting who had children who attended schools in the district were noticeably unhappy.

The Moral

Parents of general education students must advocate for their children to ensure those students get what they need, too.