Timmy W.

 

 

     Timmy W. A little boy few people knew. A little boy whose family fought the legal system for the right to attend school. Timmy came into the world in 1975 and immediately he struggled for life. His mother experienced birth complications. He experienced devastating seizures. As a newborn quadriplegic, he began his life of struggle. Struggle to survive. Struggle to be seen as a person. Pediatric specialists poked and prodded for answers. Cuddled, loved, and cared for by his mom. When he was an infant his mom took him to weekly physical therapy and occupational therapy visits. Physical therapy to rebuild and strengthen his muscles.  Mom learned how to position and move him so his limbs would not atrophy; so the muscles in his body, pulled involuntarily by the spasticity caused by his cerebral palsy, would not shorten and cause bones to break or deform. Occupational therapy for feeding instruction so he could eat and not choke to death. And when it became apparent that he had cortical blindness, more therapy to preserve and develop the sight he did have.

 

     As you can imagine, Timmy progressed slowly, very slowly. We all celebrated with his mom when he could eat without choking. Other small achievements were applauded. By the time he was school age, he still was working hard at just being healthy. His mom wanted him to go to school, be exposed to other people, and continue to make progress. But the public school system where Timmy and his mother lived declared that he was ineligible to attend school. They had their own interpretation of The Education for All Handicapped Children, which had just been decided when he was born 5 years earlier. The Rochester, New Hampshire School Board heard testimony from a myriad of specialists who recommended an individualized education program for Timmy.  Two pediatric specialists testified, one concluding that Timmy had no educational potential; the other reporting that hydrocephalus had destroyed part of his brain. In conclusion, the School Board argued that Timmy had such severe handicaps that he was not capable of benefitting from an education. Timmy was no where near ready to learn to read and write. But he was ready to learn how to communicate. His mom wanted him to be around other peers. She wanted him to continue plugging away at the goals in his individualized plan. In 1980, he was eligible to attend school and receive the education he was entitled to as defined by The Education for All Handicapped Children. He waited at home and sporadically received services. Timmy was not being hidden away in an institution which was the norm for so long, but he certainly was being shunned by his school district.

     In 1982, the New Hampshire Department of Education reviewed Rochester's special education program and found them to be out of compliance with the law. They opined that the Rochester School Board could not use 'a capable of benefitting from' standard to refuse to provide a 'free appropriate education' to Timmy. To make a long story short, the School Board ignored this recommendation and many other legal findings until they had exhausted all legal channels. In 1989. Timmy had lost 9 years of education. Nine years while lawyers argued about what this law meant. Did it mean that education was meant for only those who would benefit from it? This case definitively decided that ALL CHILDREN ARE ENTITLED TO AN EDUCATION and for some who have disabilities that means their education is defined by an individualized education plan.

     As Betsy DeVos begins to lead the federal Department of Education, let her understand this. Also let her understand that draining kids away from a public school system to enroll them in choice private schools or public charter schools who will refuse to admit ALL children will only result in segregated public and private schools. That is not what Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka (1954) settled. This is 'settled law'. Her active support of charter schools and private schools should now work to require ALL schools to accept ALL students and provide them with a free appropriate education, just as is required of all existing public schools. Ooops....public charter schools don't have to abide by all the same regulations as public schools. Unfair. If we are going to build a 'new public school' system, then the schools shall not be segregated (Brown vs Board of Education, 1954); the schools shall provide equal educational opportunity to all (Equal Educational Opportunity Act, 1974); the schools shall provide a 'free appropriate education in the least restrictive setting' to all children with disabilities (IDEA).  All of these pieces of legislation are 'settled law'. Although Betsy DeVos may be unfamiliar with them, she now needs to step up and learn about them and ensure compliance with them.  Timmy did not lose 9 years of his education for nothing. A little boy, but from his experiences our society has benefitted greatly.