JANE/REFUSAL TO CONSIDER
Mr. and Mrs. Konya were very happy with their new neighborhood. They were equally happy with the local,
neighborhood public school. They were especially looking forward to meeting Mr. Timko, the school principal, to discuss their
daughter's enrollment in first grade. As they entered Mr. Timko's office, Mr. and Mrs. Konya shook hands with Mr. Timko. Mrs.
Konya spoke first.
"Thank you for much for seeing us, Mr. Timko. We are most anxious to enroll our daughter, Jane, in first grade. We
wanted to learn a little about the first-grade class and help plan for Jane."
Mr. Konya continued, "Yes, we appreciate your time. Jane is really excited about her new school. We moved here a
month early so that she can visit the school and become familiar with our new neighborhood before school begins this fall."
Mr. Timko looked pleased as he said, "We are always happy to have new families move into our area. As you know, we
have an excellent school, with high expectations for students and a high degree of parental involvement. As a matter of fact, our
students' state test scores are the second highest in the entire state. We also have very few discipline problems. We are a very
traditional school, and we're very proud of our teachers and students."
Mrs. Konya agreed, "Yes, we know that this is an excellent school. In fact, the reason we moved to this neighborhood is
so that Jane could attend this school. We have high hopes for her continued progress."
Mr. Timko said, "Let me tell you a little about the first grade, and then we can tour the school. Jane would probably be
assigned to Mrs. Bush's classroom. Mrs. Bush is a veteran first-grade teacher. She won an award last year for her excellence in
teaching. Students in her class learn to read well and develop higher-level thinking skills. She does some writing with the
children, which is very interesting given that many of the children aren't reading and writing when they come to school. Why, at
the end of the year, the children have "published" several stories! The classroom will probably have about 20 students. Students
receive the normal special classes—library, physical education, art, vocal music, and computer classes. I think you'll be very
pleased with the class."
Mr. Konya said, "This sounds great. Now, we have brought some records for Jane from her previous kindergarten and
her evaluation. You'll probably want to look them over and arrange an IEP meeting to plan her program."
Mr. Timko looked surprised as he said, "IEP?"
Mrs. Banks answered, "Yes, Jane has special needs. She has Down syndrome."
Mr. Timko had a puzzled look on his face and said, "Down what?"
Mrs. Konya continued as she showed Mr. Timko Jane's report card, "Down syndrome. As a result of the Down
syndrome, Jane has severe cognitive delays and moderate speech and language delays. She attended a regular kindergarten last
year. She did so well! We were very pleased with her progress, both academically and socially. The school district provided a
one-on-one aide and speech therapy three times a week. You can see on her progress report here that Jane did well. We chose
this school district because we know Jane will do well here. You've already been so encouraging and welcoming to us. We're
looking forward to working with you and Mrs. Bush and the other teachers. In terms of scheduling an IEP meeting, my husband
and I are available any time during the next three weeks. We are both taking this time off from work to help Jane adjust to the
move and will meet at your convenience to plan her program. Now, can we take a tour of the building?"
Mr. Timko fumbled with his words as he said, "Uh, sure. Before we go, I need to tell you that Jane will not be placed in
regular first grade. It sounds like she needs to be placed in our special education class for mentally impaired children. It's a great
classroom with an excellent teacher. Of course, there are only 12 children with the teacher and a full-time teacher's aide. These
children are considered a part of our school, and we are happy to have the classroom here."
Mr. Konya stated in a concerned voice, "Mr. Timko, please don't misunderstand me, but we don't want Jane placed in a
special education class. We have spent years trying to help Jane feel as normal as possible. We certainly understand her
cognitive limitations, but we feel that she will gain in terms of language and social skills if she is with other normal children for
the entire school day. Jane is not disruptive in the classroom. She may need help from an aide, as she did in kindergarten, and
she'll certainly need speech and language therapy."
Mr. Timko adamantly stated, "I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Konya, we just don't do that here."
Mr. Konya looked concerned as he said, "What do you mean?"
"We just don't do that inclusion stuff here. We have a traditional program and feel that we adequately meet all students'
needs. If a student needs special education, we have a special education class."
Mrs. Konya pleaded, "Mr. Timko, please look over Jane's records and arrange an IEP meeting. We'll discuss this at the
meeting."
Mr. and Mrs. Konya walked out abruptly. Mr. Timko sat and looked stunned. He had never been faced with a situation
like this. However, this was his building, and he would not compromise the needs of the other 19 first-graders simply to place a
child with significant special education needs in the class. If a child needed special education, there was a special education
class.
Mr. Timko contacted the special education administrator, Mr. Weiss, to arrange an IEP meeting. The meeting was
conducted the following week in Mr. Timko's office. Along with the parents were Mrs. Bush, the first-grade teacher; Mr. Timko;
Mr. Weiss, the special education administrator; Mrs. Wells, the special education teacher; and Mrs. Mercer, speech and language
therapist. When the meeting convened, all school staff had reviewed Jane's records. Jane had an IQ of 45 on the WISC III. She
functioned at a prekindergarten level in reading, writing, and math skills. She could scribble, listen to a five-minute story from
the teacher, and count to three. She was cooperative and had one or two friends in her previous school. Jane's speech was at
times unintelligible, and her language was significantly delayed. She functioned at a 3-year-old level in language.
At the meeting, the content of Jane's records was reviewed, and there was considerable discussion regarding Jane's
placement.
Mr. Konya stated, "As my wife and I told Mr. Timko, we want Jane fully included in first grade. She attended regular
kindergarten last year and made good progress. We are aware that Jane does not have first-grade skills, but we think that
academic achievement is not the only reason to mainstream Jane. She will benefit greatly in terms of language modeling and
social skills modeling from the other first-graders. If she were in a special education class, she wouldn't have these normal role
models."
Mrs. Wells talked about her class, stating, "Mr. and Mrs. Konya, Jane will do well in my special education class. We are
with other children during recess, physical education, music, and lunch. So you see, Jane will have good role models, but she
will also get the individualized instruction that she needs. Other children like Jane are very successful in my classroom."
Mrs. Mercer supported the position of Mrs. Wells, saying, "I am in Mrs. Wells' classroom every day to assist with
language instruction. In addition, I will see Jane twice a week for small-group speech and language therapy. Mrs. Well's class
has a great group of children, and Jane will adjust well there and make good progress."
Mrs. Bush, in a strong voice, said, "I have never had a child like Jane in first grade. I am not trained to help a child in
special education. I am worried that I will have to spend an extraordinary amount of time with her, and the other children will
suffer."
Mrs. Konya stated in a very direct manner, "I want you to know that we will not accept anything less than full inclusion
of Jane in regular first grade. I'm sure the special education class is a good class, but we feel it is our right to request that Jane be
placed in first grade. We also want to request a full-time aide to assist Jane in first grade as a supplemental service."
Mr. Timko was angry as he said, "As I told you last week, we don't include children like Jane in regular classes. We just
don't do that here. We have special education classes for children like Jane."
Mrs. Konya pleaded, "What is preventing you from placing Jane in first grade?"
Mr. Weiss answered, "As special education administrator, I can tell you that I fully support Mr. Timko. What would
prohibit Jane from being placed in first grade is we do not believe it is appropriate. It seems the staff feels that Jane will make
more academic progress in the special education class. The only supplemental service Jane needs is speech and language
therapy. Now, let's complete our IEP to formalize the special education placement. Mr. and Mrs. Konya, I will give you some
information on your rights as parents before you leave today."
Three months later, a due process hearing officer ordered the school district to place Jane in the first-grade classroom
with supplemental services of speech and language therapy and a full-time individual aide.
QUESTIONS
Legal Issues to Consider
1. According to IDEA, describe how the school district failed to follow the LRE doctrine.
2. According to case law on LRE, what factors should the district have considered in making the placement decision?
Other Issues
1. Should academic achievement be the primary purpose of mainstreaming? Why or why not?
2. Should language modeling and social skills modeling be considered when mainstreaming a child into a regular class? Why or
why not?
3. Should language and social skills modeling be a priority over academic achievement in mainstreaming?
4. Do you agree with the due process hearing officer's decision? Why or why not?