Illinois Continuing Legal Education
Q. The judicial branch of the government stepped in to rule that all students are afforded first amendment rights as long as they don't materially and substantially disrupt classes or other school activities. The removal of a pupil with an educational disability from the pupil's regular class occurs only when the nature or severity of the educational disability is such that education in the pupil's regular class with the use of appropriate supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. I am noticing that the above rulings and legislation assuring our "special education" students their educational rights has had an unfortunate bi-product. The education of the general education children gets sacrificed so that children with disabilities can be included. Classrooms are less manageable for the teachers and the hallways and other non teaching areas are less safe for students. I wondered if there was any Illinois law that would hold a school accountable for bullying that takes place on its premises. It seems that our state government draws the line when it comes to passing legislation designed to hold the schools responsible for maintaining an atmosphere safe from bullying. As Gary Avery, J.D. from the National Trainers for Law Advisory Group explained, I wondered about the likelihood of winning a lawsuit against a school district for negligence regarding bullying. Mr. Avery said that school officials are allowed to use their discretion in deciding what, if any, punishment is proper in keeping with a U.S. Supreme Court case of long ago out of Illinois, DeShaney v. Winnebago County Social Services, 1989, 109 S Ct 998. in my research I read that a school doesn't hold any "special status" with regards to the students that enter its doors. Schools are not guardians, therefore cannot be held responsible for the actions, of students' in their domain. While I understand the reasoning behind the legislation that guarantees "special needs" students an equal opportunity education, there is much difficulty in monitoring the actions of all students at all times. I'm of the opinion that since there has been legislative action to protect the rights of "special needs" students, there must be some legislative action that can be taken to guarantee that the schools assure an atmosphere conducive to learning for "all students". Civil suits between families do not address the school's responsibility for this inaction. Certainly students being bullied are not getting "equal access to education". They are attending school in an atmosphere of fear. Give fair and equal treatment to all groups if one group is to receive it. Students not classified as "special needs" have not been given equal voice. Our students who perform well remind me of those applicants who are more qualified but don't get the job because of "affirmative action". Our home teams don't have to play with a "handicap". Why must the average student?
A. Nancy Salvato is a middle school teacher in Illinois and an independent contractor for Prism Educational Consulting. She is the Educational Liaison to IL Sen. Ray Soden and she works with national and local organizations furthering the cause of Civic Education. She is a columnist for American Daily, and TheRant.us. Her pieces are published in The Washington Dispatch, Opinion Editorials, GOP-USA, Iconoclast, the Free Republic Network & Townhall.com.
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