Tell the Board of Education it is DISCRIMINATION....

Tell the Board of Education it is DISCRIMINATION to deny alternative


Posted by: "Rosemary N. Palmer" floridalawlady@gmail.com askthelawlady

Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:40 am (PST)





Please forward this email as widely as possible, asking your friends and

friends of those who oppose discrimination to write the Board of Education

in opposition to excluding alternative schools from the same accountability

as other schools.



https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readFile.asp?sid=2&tid=8045585&type=1&File=6A-1.099811.htm



FLDOE has just announced its differential accountability rule, which is set

for public hearing January 19, 2010 in Tampa (unknown time and place,

contact lynn.abbott@fldoe.org). The rule sets out what schools where

students aren't learning have to do to fix it. The rule excludes

alternative schools, including special education day schools, second chance

schools which are disproportionately populated by students of color and

students with disabilities, whether or not identified under IDEA or 504, who

have typically been sent there because school districts have failed to

provide research proven interventions in less restrictive environments, and

similar schools, from full accountability when they continue to fail

students . (See

http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-5588/dps-2009-215.pdf )



Apparently school districts have argued that the populations are too fragile

and and too mobile for school districts to be required to close them when

they cannot fix the problems after 1 year in Intervene status (which follows

multiple years in prevent and correct status --- most of the ESE schools are

now in Correct or Correct II status throughout the state).



However we know that students with disabilities whether or not identified

and students of color ought to be equally entitled to the benefits of

differentiated accountability. After years of knowing that such schools do

not implement research proven interventions with fidelity and do not produce

results (not to mention assigning personnel to such schools after they have

failed in some way in non-alternative schools), we all know that school

districts will NOT have any incentive to fix the problems until they know

that they must implement interventions that actually educate in those

schools too, and they are subject to ultimate sanctions of disbanding the

schools if they cannot find a way to successfully educated the students

there assigned, just like other schools are. Indeed, exempting alternative

schools gives districts additional incentives to throw away students with

disabilities rather than educate them, and also continues practices of using

more restrictive environments that clearly don't work any way, which are

also in violation of the law..



I say that students with disabilities (and students of color to the extent

that they are disproportionately represented in alternative schools) deserve

to be in schools that teach. Let's tell FLDOE and the Florida Board of

Education that passing a rule exempting alternative schools from Intervenor

status is discrimination, pure and simple.



Dr. Eric J. Smith Commissioner of Education Commissioner@fldoe.org

Office of the Commissioner Turlington Building, Suite 1514

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

*Phone:* (850) 245-0505

*Fax:* (850) 245-9667



STATE BOARD of EDUCATION

(850) 245-9661

325 W. Gaines Street

Suite 1520

Tallahassee, Florida 32399



T. WILLARD FAIR, Chairman

President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Greater Miami,

Inc.



PETER BOULWARE, Vice president of Legacy Toyota, Tallahassee FL

DR. AKSHAY DESAI, President, CEO and Chairman of Universal Health Care, St.

Petersburg, FL

ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ , Colson, Hicks, Eidson, Coral Gables FL

JOHN R. PADGET , Key West FL

KATHLEEN SHANAHAN, CEO WRSCompass,

LINDA K. TAYLOR, Ft. Myers, FL



Thank you for your help. It will take us all writing and calling to make a

difference.



--

Rosemary N. Palmer

Attorney at Law

FBN 070904 UBN 005004

5260 Pimlico Drive

Tallahassee FL 32309

floridalawlady@gmail.com

850 668 9203