NYS Ed. Dept. has gone ballistic re its outcomes for kids w/disabilities on State-mandated tests.
Monday, December, 1, 2003
The Special Education Muckraker

The NYS Ed. Dept. has gone ballistic re its outcomes for kids w/disabilities on State-mandated tests. In the summary of the NYS Ed. Dept. Board of Regents' November 2003 meeting, they write that they find it "imperative" that USDOE be required to show the research documenting its requirement that kids w/disabilities can make the same Adequate Yearly Progress as non-disabled kids. A recent NYSED memo indicates that over 80% of all elementary and middle schools in NYS flunked the requirement that their kids w/disabilities attain adequate yearly progress: NYSED didn't give the AYP data for high schools and high school-age programs at all. We posit that maybe 90% of all NYS high schools flunked on this criteria. Since NYSED has never posted its "not tested" numbers for kids w/disabilities below the high school level (and removed its "not tested" data for kids w/disabilities at the high school level from its web site as soon as they realized someone had read it), we assume that this "confidential" information would not be helpful to NYSED's public posture.

We also have good reason to believe that one reason so many NY schools didn't make AYP for their disabled kids - especially at the middle and high school level - is because NY has such a hugely inflated, fraudulent disabled student enrollment. Many of these kids drop out because the programs they are provided with are, to be blunt, totally useless babysitting (at best). Others are aggressively pushed out of school, starting in middle school, before they have the chance to flunk mandated tests, since they've never been given effective remediation or instruction. The age distribution of NY's students with disabilities is markedly different than that of the US as a whole: the number of kids w/disabilities starts its sharp drop much earlier in the high school program than elsewhere. Kids with disabilities do not leave high school programs at age 16 in NYS because they're graduating with regular high school diplomas. NY schools have been permitted to maintain obviously inflated enrollment and attendance rolls so that they can secure per capita student funding (including IDEA funds) to which they are absolutely not entitled, because the kids just aren't there.

Of course, since USDOE-OSEP has never funded any research into showing which methodologies and programs of remediation and instruction are effective for kids who have disabilities, USDOE is going to have some trouble coming up with answers. But the Orton Gillingham folks, the Lindamood Bell folks, the Slingerland, Direct Instruction and FastForward folks have answers - the feds (and SEA's) just never asked for them - because they didn't want to know. When we spoke to the operator of a private clinic which does offer a research-validated remediation program, she explained that "if they did that, parents could use it to win hearings for reimbursement of our services - so they don't." We think she's right.

Note that NYSED wants everyone to meet w/the NY Congressional Delegation to help get them off the hook.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT ALL NEW YORKERS (AND REPS FROM DISABILITY-RIGHTS GROUPS NATIONALLY) CONTACT NY'S CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION AND USDOE'S SECRETARY ROD PAIGE TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WATERING DOWN AYP REQUIREMENTS FOR KIDS W/DISABILITIES IS INAPPROPRIATE AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED BY VOTERS IN 2004'S UPCOMING PRIMARIES AND REGULAR ELECTIONS.

TO:
The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:
David Johnson

COMMITTEE:
Full Board

TITLE OF ITEM:
Summary of the November 2003 Meeting

DATE OF SUBMISSION:
November 21, 2003

PROPOSED HANDLING:
Approval (Consent Agenda)

RATIONALE FOR ITEM:
Approval for Public Distribution of the Summary of the Monthly Meeting

STRATEGIC GOAL:
Goal #4

AUTHORIZATION(S):

SUMMARY:

...

DISCUSSION ITEMS

Commissioner's Report to the Board of Regents

The Commissioner's written monthly report focused on eight subject areas the Board was scheduled to vote upon or discuss during the monthly meeting: State Aid Conceptual Proposal; Regents Priority Legislative Proposals; Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Students with Disabilities; Regents Roles in Regents Accreditation of Teacher Education; Planning a USNY Convocation; Archives 25th Anniversary; Nursing Shortage; and, Follow-through on Assessment Decisions.

In discussion, Board members stated concerns regarding the NCLB requirements related to adequate yearly progress for students with disabilities: imperative that Federal officials be directly informed of the problems in raising the achievement level of children with disabilities fast enough to meet the established timetable; consider having Regents and Department staff meet with the New York Congressional delegation; and, request the research findings used in developing the policy.

http://www.regents.nysed.gov/December2003/1203bra3.htm

Dee Alpert, Publisher
The Special Education Muckraker
http://www.specialeducationmuckraker.com