Brown v. Board of Education - Information Bulletin #
66 5/04
Education decision in which the Supreme Court held that school districts
violated the Fourteenth Amendment by racially segregating children in
schools.
What follows is a review of segregation of children based on
disability.
The latest data from the U.S. Department of Education, which
annually
collects this data state by state and submits it to Congress, presents the
following data for the 5,594,431 students between the ages of 6 and 18
with disabilities:
* A composite of "All
Disabilities" shows that more than
1,236,373 children 22% of the total with disabilities remain in segregated
settings, i.e., they are either entirely in "Separate Schools and
Facilities" or spend more than 60 percent of their time "Outside
Regular
Classes," in separate classes for children with disabilities. (These
are
the definitions used by the U.S. Dept. of Education.)
* The flip side shows that only 2,742,219 less than
half of all
children with disabilities are "integrated" in their schools, i.e.,
they
spend less than 21 percent of their time Outside Regular Classes or, in
clearer terms, they spend more than 79% of their time in "regular"
classes
with children who are not disabled.
* The middle 29% are children with disabilities who
spend between 21
- 60% of their school hours "Outside Regular Classes," presumably in
"resource rooms" only for children with disabilities.
Obviously, the more
time they spend "OUTSIDE regular classes," i.e., closer to 60% than
21% of
time, the more they are segregated.
A snap shot by specific disability classification shows:
* For children who have only an "orthopedic
impairment"(these
children have no other disabilities), 30.2% are in segregated settings
(i.e., spend more than 60% of their time outside regular classes).
* For children who have either only a "hearing
impairment," 37% are
segregated and for children who have only a "visual impairment,"
27.6% are
segregated.
* By far the most segregation occurs for children
classified as
having "Mental Retardation." 57.3% of this
population are segregated.
A breakdown by State b not local school districts b and by
disability, graduation rates, drop out rates, etc.,can be found at
http://www.ideadata.org/PartBDataMeeting2004.asp Just click on
your State.
School and education advocates have for too long been primarily
parents of individual disabled children. As with housing and Olmstead
issues, the SCHOOL segregation of children with disabilities in schools
and educational settings must become an issue that goes far beyond the
direct participants. A truly inclusive society and educational system can
and should integrate children with disabilities.
While education is a "local" issue and you local school
districts
should be held accountable for segregating children with disabilities,
your State Department of Education can and should as a policy issue review
why such segregation exists in your local school district. Advocates
should review the extent of disability segregation school district by
school district.
Disability advocates must make education more than an individual
child's issue; we must organize around education. Pretend every child
with a disability is your own; would you accept a segregated educational
system for your child?
Tell your school boards and state educational officials that Jim
Crow
education for children is NOT acceptable, whether based on race or
disability.
Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues
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