Fwd: Extended School Year - The Miami Herald 12/4/01

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Published Tuesday, December 4, 2001

Cuts threaten summer programs for disabled kidsBY CAROL MARBIN MILLER cmarbin@...

A Broward battle last spring over the rights of disabled children to attend summer school may be joined statewide this year as school districts throughout Florida grapple with the effects of deep cuts to the state's budget. Last year, the parents of disabled students waged war against Broward officials after they tried to cut in half a six-week instructional program for exceptional students. The district relented and students were allowed to attend. This year, as lawmakers search for programs to trim as part of a $1.3 billion projected shortfall, many school districts are considering eliminating summer school altogether, which could put an end to extended school year programs for disabled children. The extended school year program, to which many students are entitled under federal law as part of their individual educational plans, allows children with learning disabilities to continue honing their skills -- and to retain skills they have already developed -- rather than risk regressing during a lengthy summer hiatus. In South Florida alone, the cuts could affect tens of thousands of children who receive special education.

`REALLY SCARY'

``It's really, really scary,'' said Costa, an assistant public defender in Broward whose 7-year-old son, Dylan, is autistic and attends Parkside Elementary in Coral Springs. ``Do I choose my job, or make sure my son is in the best environment possible?'' said Costa, who heads the Autism Society's Broward chapter. ``Do I sacrifice my minimal hopes and dreams that I can maximize my son's potential by putting him in an ineffective care situation for the summer?''

PROGRAMS `CRUCIAL'

In a letter mailed to all Florida school districts recently, H. Blumenthal, executive director of the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, called the extended school programs ``crucial'' to the education of children who need constant instruction to learn important skills. ``The Center is currently assessing the intentions of Florida's school districts to determine the best course of action,'' said Blumenthal, who lobbied heavily last year for parents in Broward County. School officials in Miami-Dade County are studying how cuts will affect the district's summer programs for disabled students. At present, however, administrators have no plans for maintaining services with significantly fewer dollars. ``There have been several meetings across the state addressing this issue,'' said Lourdes Camji, an instructional supervisor for Miami-Dade's exceptional student education program. ``Everyone is getting together to address exceptional students, but at this point nothing has been finalized.''

BROWARD CLASSES

In Broward, administrators have told parents they intend to provide instruction next summer for disabled students, regardless of whether typically developing pupils have an opportunity to attend classes. ``We have a whole plan,'' said Leah , the county's director of exceptional student education. Administrators have held several ``parent awareness'' workshops the last two months, and have dispatched employees to every school to discuss how cutbacks could affect students with disabilities. For children who are in mainstream classes during the regular school year, something may be missing, however, because summer school may not be available for typical children if the money disappears. School districts will do disabled students no favors by offering summer programs only for exceptional students, said Lilliam Rangel-, who heads the Miami-Dade-based Center for Education Advocacy. Most special-education students learn best in classrooms in which they are integrated with non-special education students, she said.

MONITORING PLANNED

``Extended school year is not supposed to be segregation, especially when children are included [in mainstream classrooms] throughout the school year,'' said Rangel-. The state will be monitoring what school districts do next summer, to make sure the rights of disabled children are not violated, said Joann Carrin, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. ``We do have to provide services to children whose needs are identified in [n individualized educational plan],'' she said.

© 2001 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.http://www.miami.com/herald