***(UK) Scottish Highland/SPED disaster; 30-40% of secondary students are SPED

***Feb 25, 2019, Aberdeen (Scotland) Press and Journal: Parents furious at ‘horrifying’ Highland classroom cuts https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/1685179/parents-furious-at-horrifying-highland-classroom-cuts/ Highland Council’s decision to target children with Additional Support Needs (ASN) as part of budget savings has been met with fresh fury after it emerged the north has a massively above-average rate of diagnosed pupils. The council has to find ways to plug a £27.9 million [$37M US dollars] funding gap next financial year and £32.4 million [$43M US] over the following two years. … But officials have now confirmed the percentage of the region’s primary pupils identified as ASN is 37.2% – compared with a national average of 23.5%. In secondary, the percentage of pupils with ASN is even higher, at 40.6%, compared with the national average of 29.9%. … “The cuts are going to have a horrifying impact on children who are struggling being in a mainstream school as it is. “Normal children have their learning disrupted because teachers can’t handle when a child kicks off and the whole classroom goes into lockdown. “My daughter, who doesn’t have special needs, has been traumatised by this going on around her.” …