July 19, 2017, Des Moines Register: Ruling could expand special education services to more Iowa students http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2017/07/19/judge-rules-iowa-department-education-must-reimburse-urbandale-family-private-tutoring/465444001/ A legal judgment could force Iowa schools to change how they determine which students qualify for special education, potentially allowing thousands of more children to qualify for services, advocates say. Administrative Law Judge Christie J. Scase issued a ruling that requires the Iowa Department of Education to reimburse an Urbandale family for private tutoring costs incurred after their child was denied access to special education programming at school. The case could have broad implications for Iowa schools. In her ruling, Scase wrote that the Department of Education should revisit its policies and procedures for determining who qualifies for special education. The state should not use criteria that essentially require a student to be severely behind his or her peers before a disability is recognized, she wrote in the 70-page document. Potentially, several thousand Iowa students with learning disabilities could qualify for special education services if the department's approach to determining eligibility changes, said Randy Califf, vice president of Decoding Dyslexia Iowa, a parent advocacy group.
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.