Can you please give me some key take aways from this article? Initially, I agree
ID: 391133 • Letter: C
Question
Can you please give me some key take aways from this article?
Initially, I agree with the assistant principal’s reaction due to the severity of the situation and the dire outcome that could possibly come from one student sharing medication with another, but I disagree that contacting law enforcement as the first step is the appropriate response to the situation. Before punishment can be rendered to students with disabilities there are several steps that must be taken beforehand.
I do not believe the assistant principal was justified in contacting law enforcement as the first response to the situation. In any case involving underage students the first step would be to contact the student’s parents, especially because the student who gave the medication was a student classified as having disabilities. After relaying the situation to the head principal and the parents were contacted I would then have the school SRO officer present so that an informed disciplinary decision could be made taking into account all aspects of the situation/students. There should be no punishment made until the extent of the student’s disability has been reviewed, the case S-1 v. Turlington decided that before a punishment can be decided it must first be determined if the misconduct of a student was a result of their disability or not.
As previously stated I believe there were other options available to the assistant principal. After meeting with the lead principal to discuss the situation, the parents must be called/notified of what has taken place, the school SRO officer should also be present when determining the direction of the disciplinary action, contacting outside law enforcement should not have been the initial response to the situation. There are plans in place for disciplinary action specifically for children with disabilities such as placement in an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) up to ten days, suspend the student up to ten days, and/or place the student in the IAES for up to forty-five days.
I believe the child does have a valid claim against the assistant principal due to the fact that the student was reported to the police as the first response without first reviewing/determining if the student’s disabilities played any part in her actions. The fact that the student’s parents were not contacted before reporting her to the police supports that the assistant principal did not follow proper procedure when handling the situation.
I believe the courts would hold that the school committed no wrong in informing law enforcement of the situation following the proper procedure of notifying the parents, the other student involved who was given the medication is also entitled to her rights as an individual and her parents should also be informed of what took place as well. Because the severity of the case and the possible risk to the health/life of the student who was given the medication I believe it was appropriate to have law enforcement involvement but not as the first step nor final resolution in this case.
For special needs students in cases involving long-term suspension or expulsion, the school must first determine whether or not the student’s disability caused their behavior in the first place, a hearing must take place to review the specific disabilities the student has and whether or not this played a part in their behavior. In cases where a student endangers themselves or others however the school may follow their normal procedures because a short-term suspension does not change the placement of the student. Students without disabilities are also afforded rights that protect them such as the provisions of due process, meaning that the student’s individual rights must be protected and given a fair trial before disciplinary action is taken.
The least restrictive environment is essentially the view that children with disabilities have the right to be educated under normal classroom conditions with children who are not disabled. This objective is to provide those children with disabilities a chance to interact and socialize with ‘regular’ students. Because there is a great variation among students with disabilities there is no one way to provide appropriate level or services to all children, a few of the possibilities however are as follow: regular classes with support from regular classroom teachers, regular classes with support from special teachers, regular class with special resource instruction, full-time special education class in a regular school, full-time special school, residential school, and homebound instruction.
Inclusion is an extension on the idea of mainstreaming. Inclusion is essentially the placement of children with disabilities in regular classrooms. It is designed to ensure that children with disabilities receive the appropriate education to maximize their learning potential. There is debate over the success of inclusion in classrooms; many feel that it is a benefit for both students with disabilities and those without because it introduces the children with disabilities to ‘regular’ education, as well as exposes ‘regular’ students to individuals with disabilities. Others however believe it takes away from the education of ‘regular’ students, and if teachers are not properly educated to meet the needs of children with disabilities it can create even more of a challenge in the classroom.
Explanation / Answer
This article is about sharing medication by a disabled student with other students and the adverse effects of it. Key takeaways are as below:
1. Before contacting law enforcement agencies, parents if such students must be contacted and then the school SRO officer must be informed so that disciplinary decision is taken.
2. Punishment must be decided after proper analysis and review of students' disability and then disciplinary action especially for children with disability must be taken.
3. In this situation, assistant principal did not follow the above procedure and the child has a valid claim against the assistant principal and the other child to whom medication was given medication is also entitled to his/her rights.
4. Even students without disabilities have their rights and must be given fair trial before disciplinary action is taken.
5. Best environment for students with disabilities is to let them study and learn with students without disabilities so that they have a chance to interact and socialize with these students.