Forest Leaves - 11/23/2005

Private school students face special ed cut
BY CHRIS LAFORTUNE
STAFF WRITER

A change in federal law means some private school students are left this year without the public school special education services they previously received.

Reauthorization of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act last year shifted responsibility for these services to public school districts based on where private students attend school, instead of where they live.

Private schools previously had to work with multiple public school districts to fulfill their students' special education needs, U.S. Education Department Spokesman Jim Bradshaw. With the new rule, private schools only have to deal with one district.

Local public school officials, though, are not happy with the change.

"This is possibly one of the most stupid things I've seen in special education, in my 30 years in the business," Oak Park Elementary District 97 special services director Steve Castle said.

Castle has received calls from parents whose children attend private school in Oak Park but live in other towns. They've been told their home districts will no longer serve these students.

District 97, though, received $47,354 in federal funds for private student special education based on the number of students served last year, and already spends $72,973 serving those students. It may not be able to afford an influx of additional students who live outside the village, he said.

"I had the unfortunate responsibility to show (the private schools) these figures," Castle said. "I'm not sure there's anything additional we're going to be able to do."

The added students live outside the village, he noted.

"Local tax dollars should be focused on services to local kids and families who live in your school district," Castle said. "This goes counter to that."

District 97 is not yet sure how many more students it will gain under the new structure.

River Forest Elementary District 90 must serve 25 additional special education students as a result of the change, program Director Martha Ryan-Toye said. Some of those students attend St. Vincent Ferrer School and live in Elmwood Park or Melrose Park.

"It does represent a significant change for us," she said.

What's worse, a counting glitch means District 90 gets zero federal funding this year to service private-school special education students, Ryan-Toye said.

The same has happened at Oak Park-River Forest High School, which provides special education services to Fenwick and Trinity students who live in the villages, program Director Linda Cada said.

But those who live outside the villages they won't get services at OPRF, at least not this year, because District 200 doesn't have the money. Cada has spoken with those families, to help them get needed services themselves.

"I can't use public dollars, obviously, because that's supposed to be spent on our own students," Cada said. "I have no dollars to be spent on the parochial schools, currently."

District 90 will provide special education services to private students who were receiving them before the change, Ryan-Toye said.

"These kids are getting services as of today," Ryan-Toye said. "They started the school year getting services. We're looking at just maintaining what we're currently doing while our costs get recalculated."

The law allows districts to limit special education for private students to the amount funded by the federal government, Ryan-Toye said. Districts now have to decide what services they're willing to provide.

"It will really be up to the School Board to decide what they want to do with fewer dollars than kids that are in need of service," she said.

Whether that results in service cuts to private students remains to be seen, Castle said.

"We're taking the stand right now, as a lot of districts, if we do get kids that are newly identified, the only thing we can do right now is put them on a waiting list," Castle said.

Parents have the right to dual-enroll their children in private and public schools, to get necessary special education services, Castle said. In District 90, Ryan-Toye has encouraged at least one parent to do just that.