God Bless Them.

Everyone, but Special Ed kids--especially ones in high school NOW, have been given a pass through school their entire time. Now, the TAKS and NCLB (No Child...)have deemed that ALL kids who are for some reason---SPECIAL ED qualified---will NONETHELESS take the TAKS test! Yep, only 1%--one percent--of your SPED kids can be exempt.

So, if you have a SPED population of 65 at your school, and 5 are severely handicapped (Down's, Fragile X, etc...) then they are exempt. That leaves you with only 2 of the remaining 60 kids to exempt. As a parent, as a citizen, do you really think--logically think--that 99% of any SPED population can take a test on level with their peers?

Now, the conflict there is: if the kid has a disability that means they can't learn the same, why are we testing the same as regular kids?

You might want to start a new thread on this one....

But, I digress.

SPED kids count on your TAKS and CEI. They take up more time and resources. As a group in high school, they have been conditioned to do little or nothing to pass....

And who gets it on the chin? The teacher.

[Ed Note: I've asked the administration to respond to this. Can we get more documentation? The first thing that comes to mind is that Special Education students still progress. There are ways to reach even the most severly handicapped kids and make a difference in their lives. The teachers who do so effectively are gems for tough-to-reach kids. I don't think you're suggesting that DISD not teach special ed students, but I can't figure out what your point is--completely. Even our recognized and exemplary schools have special ed and special needs kids.]