Is your special education child in the school-to-prison pipeline? 5 things you can do about it!
I was recently contacted by a parent of an autistic child from another state for some advocacy advice. The mother is educated, knowledgeable in defense skills and a passionate fighter for her son! She is extremely concerned that her school district is setting her son up to fail (because of her behavior) so that he can be expelled from school. I have seen many special educators escalate a child’s behavior, call the police, and arrest the child. This is how the conduit goes from school to prison, and it can happen to your son.
According to a recent article, the Bureau of Justice Statistics survey says experts attribute the high percentage of people with disabilities in the country’s bloated prison population, which has grown 700 percent since 1970, in part to deep-seated problems in the education of children with disabilities. . Here’s another shocking statistic: Nationally, at least 73 percent of emotionally disabled youth who drop out of school are arrested within five years, according to a federal study.
What is a father to do?
1. Learn about behavior in general and some of the causes: a. A child’s behavior could well be related to her disability. b. All behavior is a form of communication. against Children often have behavioral difficulties if they are frustrated. d. Keep in mind that there is a strong connection between academic difficulty and behavioral difficulty. In other words, many children who have behavior problems in school also have academic problems. me. The reaction to a child’s behavior will either improve the behavior or worsen the behavior. This includes at school and also at home! Untrained special education staff may intensify the behavior (make it worse), rather than reduce it (improve it). F. The earlier the behavior is addressed, the easier it will be to change.
2. Ask the special educators to look up the ABC’s of behavior and track the behavior for a week (writing their results). A means antecedent (what is happening in the classroom when the behavior occurs), B means behavior (specifically what the behavior is), and C means consequences (what happened because of the behavior, eg: your child yells and yells). . and manages to avoid school work).
3. Advocate for best practices for managing negative behavior (an appropriately developed Functional Behavior Assessment (FPA) is used to develop positive behavior plans/supports). Make sure the plan is “positive” because studies have shown that punishment only works in the short term to change behavior in a positive way.
4. Find out about federal and state special education laws related to the discipline of children with disabilities. In my 25 years of advocacy, I have found that many school districts overstate the laws to discipline children, and few parents question their ability to do so.
5. Ask for a Daily Behavior Sheet (to be completed and returned home each day) so you can use positive reinforcement at home for good behavior. When educators complete the sheet, they should only write positive comments. The daily conduct sheet can be used in a dispute with special educators (for example: they claim on the _________ day that your child did __________, and the sheet does not reflect that). The sheet can be developed by a teacher or by the person conducting the FBA. Make sure all sheets are dated for future reference.
If your school district calls the police on your child and arrests your child, you may be able to receive assistance from judges for special education services. I have seen parents able to help their children receive needed services, if the criminal justice system gets involved. If this happens to your child, please proactively advocate for needed special education services. In the end, your child may end up receiving a free appropriate public education and the school district must provide the services the child needs! Good luck!