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Special Ed Case
On December 21, the State Department of Education settled a law suit brought by the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia to increase the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education classes. The settlement comes after ten years of effort in a state-wide class action, Gaskin v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, on behalf of 12 named plaintiffs, and 11 advocacy organizations, including The ARC of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania TASH, and Pennsylvania Protection and Advocacy.
Under the agreement, the state will increase monitoring and introduce policies and practices under which schools will place students with disabilities in regular classrooms with the supports they need. The settlement creates an Advisory Panel on Least Restrictive Environment which will review progress in the implementation of the settlement, including growth in inclusive practices, improvements in quality, and the extent to which teachers and other school personnel are receiving the training and assistance needed to meet the needs of special education students. Twelve of the 15 members of the Advisory Panel will be selected by the plaintiff organizations. As we go to press, the settlement is still awaiting court approval. For more information, go to:
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/special_edu/cwp/view.asp?a=177&Q=109539.
Information furnished by the Policy
Information Exchange
and funded by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.
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