Alright – so, I am new in advocating or even understanding special education laws and policies. I saw a story few weeks ago by the Mpls Star Tribune segregation and inequality limit Minnesotans with disabilities and I started thinking how can this be. Didn’t we move from segregation to inclusion of people with disabilities which includes autism. Sadly, we have not and may even be going backwards. Then I started looking into how school districts start this disturbing chain and gateway tunnel early.
Children with autism and other behavioral disorders are often sent to a segregated education setting where the child sees no one but those with other disabilities all day long. School districts are sending children to these secluded and segregated educational settings as young as elementary and middle school. Think about that for a minute. The child is locked for hours every day and sees no one with typical behaviors then where and how can this child possibly learn how to act normally. There is no segregation section in grocery stores, parks, malls, etc. which then causes the parent to not take their child anywhere because they don’t know how to behave. This leads to this child becoming a young adult who now lives in a segregated group home and works in a segregated employment setting. How is this different the days of institution and seclusion for individuals with disabilities decades ago? It is not.
So what now? what do we do, how do we stop this, who has the authority and what can parents whose children have autism and/or other disabilities do?
So many good questions and I don’t have all of the answers yet. My first suggestions for any family who is struggling with this are:
- Don’t sign anything that takes your child to a segregated educational setting.
- Learn about Individuals with Disabilities Education Empowerment Act (IDEIA) and learn about what least restrictive environment (LRE) is. Most likely the school district is violating this.
- Learn and educate yourself about the process of filing a complaint with Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and due process which means you may have to go in-front of a judge or go through due process which can take long and is complex. But you can do it – stay strong and focus on the needs of your child.
- Call Minnesota Disability Law Center as they have been working on this issue and can support you.
- Don’t get intimidated or bullied by the school district because they will try but you can beat them if you are persistent and informed – stay calm, focused and be strategic with your child’s needs.
- Contact your local and congressional representative and senators and ask what they can do legislatively which can include holding funding from districts who violate IDEIA. Currently, there are no incentives or consequences for districts who violate IDEIA or send our kids to segregated educational settings and there is nothing that says did you try to educate the child in the LRE.
- Blog if you can, tell other parents about your experience, contact the school board and scream from every mountain, river and valley because you are your child’s best advocate.
Stay tuned as I learn more about this and figure out how to stop this big and well funded school districts from segregating our children which can only lead into a segregated and institution like life which we don’t want. We want our children to live in an inclusive and welcoming world where people understand and have compassion.
Above words do not reflect any candidate, agency or committee.
Idil – Autism Mom