Regular Classes May Be Open To Disabled Kids Committee Also Calls For Thorough Training For Teachers

Thu., Feb. 29, 1996

Carla K. Johnson Staff writer

More disabled students will learn in regular classrooms if the Spokane School Board follows a recommendation it received Wednesday from its citizens advisory committee.

The committee studied the issue at the board’s request for the past 18 months.

Parents of children with disabilities, such as Down syndrome or cerebral palsy, had asked the board for a more consistent policy in district schools.

Some schools eagerly worked with parents who wanted their disabled children placed in regular classrooms while other schools resisted, said Lisa Giddings of Schools Are for Everyone, a parents group that organized around the issue.

“The intent is to give every child the opportunity to use their abilities in a normal setting and give that first preference rather than last preference,” said Stan Kempner, a Spokane attorney who led the citizens’ study.

Heated discussions were common as the committee studied the issue, Kempner told the board. A common fear was that disabled children would disrupt the classroom.

Research and conversations with parents who have had good experiences with their disabled children in regular classrooms eased those fears.

Existing district policies and the teachers’ contract could resolve any problems, Kempner said.

The committee called for thorough training of teachers and cooperation with colleges to encourage training of new teachers. The committee suggested that parents of disabled children be made equal partners in decisions about their children’s education.

The board voted to forward the recommendation to two district committees that are also studying the issue.

On another topic, the board heard from supporters and critics of a school discipline technique called “processing” or “think time.”

The board asked district administrators to write a report responding to the public comments. The new discipline incorporates “time out” with a form students fill out about what they did wrong.

Some parents complain that students are sent to think time for inconsequential behavior, such as tapping their pencils or clearing their throats.

, DataTimes

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