Outcasts?
Parents claim schools ostracize some disabled children
By Donna C. Gregory NEWS EDITOR

Susan Foster's twin daughters, Sarah and Emily, are mainstreamed into regular classrooms at Providence Elementary School, but that's not the norm at some county schools.

The days of school segregation supposedly ended with the Civil Rights Movement, but some Chesterfield parents say it still exists - only now it's not a division of white and black, but "normal" students and those with disabilities.

A group of seven parents spoke before the school board last week, urging members to adopt a systemwide policy of "inclusion" for special education students. Some of the parents claim their children are forced to attend school in segregated classrooms, marginalizing them from their fellow students.

"There are so many who continue to be segregated because they have a disability. We feel this is a violation of their civil rights," complained Jennifer Peers, a parent who fought for her daughter to attend classes at Swift Creek Elementary in a regular classroom environment in 2003.

"What kind of message is Chesterfield County sending when the school system continues to isolate students [with disabilities] from the rest of the school? How can we expect society to accept them [if the school system doesn't]?" questioned Pricilla Greene, another parent.

According to the parents, the school system doesn't have a specific policy when it comes to including special education children in regular classrooms. The amount of inclusion varies from school-toschool, depending on each school's administration.

Some schools like Providence Elementary try to mainstream special education students with other students. Susan Foster's twin second grade daughters with Down Syndrome have been in regular classrooms since kindergarten, and are only separated from their peers to receive special services like speech therapy.

"They have thrived. They have risen to amazing levels," Foster told school board members as her daughters flanked her on either side of the podium. "But I'm also concerned that far too many children have not been given that opportunity. Segregated children feel excluded."

Mauretta Copeland says her daughter, Imanni, is one of those segregated children. Immani has cerebral palsy. She begins the fourth-grade this week at Evergreen Elementary.

Last year, Copeland became so frustrated with how Immani was being excluded at school that she pulled her out of Evergreen and home-schooled her for six months. Immani returned to Evergreen last March - this time, under the guidance of an attorney. When Copeland meets with school officials to discuss Immani's individualized education plan (IEP), two attorneys sit in on the gathering - Copeland's and the school system's.

"They fight you tooth and nail for the least little thing," charged Copeland.

Immani spends most of the school day in a classroom with a teacher, two aides and two other disabled students who are unable to walk or talk. She's mainstreamed for two hours a day for resource classes such as music and art.

"At one point, her [special education] class was not even going to the library. You almost don't feel part of the school," Copeland insisted.

Copeland says she's had to fight Evergreen's school administration so Immani can eat lunch and attend PE classes with regular students.

She recounted to school board members how Immani tried to join students in a regular PE class one day because she was so bored by her own gym class. "Immani doesn't speak, but her actions spoke that day. She wants to be around other kids. Immani is included everywhere except school."

"The ideal situation would be for my daughter to be in a regular classroom. I want her to be with her peers as much as possible," Copeland said during an interview after the meeting. "At this school, they have low expectations. You have to expect more. When I ask the school why this is happening, they don't have any reason. I think that what it is is things have always been done this particular way. They're stuck in the 1950s. I think they just haven't thought about it."

Speaking on behalf of the group, Foster says the parents plan to attend the school board's meetings each month throughout the coming year in an effort to bring awareness to the issue.

Following the parents' comments last week, board members asked for an update on how the school system approaches inclusion.

According to school system spokesperson Debra Marlow, the number of special education students in the county who have been mainstreamed into regular classrooms has steadily increased since the early 1990s. Federal and state law requires that the school system offers a "full continuum of services…and that inclusion opportunities be part of that continuum." Each student's IEP team determines if and when inclusion is possible.

Opponents of inclusion often question if students with special needs are capable of performing in a regular classroom. Some also say students with certain disabilities disrupt class time and take attention away from other students.