When Publicly-Funded Schools Don’t Act Like Public Schools
Tres Whitlock has cerebral palsy. It’s a disabling condition that affects his speech–he can’t speak on his own. It also affects his movement. But it doesn’t affect his mental abilities. So what is he doing in a program that serves students with mental disabilities?
It’s the program where his public school has placed him. Although Tres is classified as severely disabled, this placement is clearly not meeting his needs. So because he lives in Florida, home to a number of charter schools, Whitlock and his family sought out a charter school that offered the kind of computer-based instruction that would help him succeed.
Only the charter school wouldn’t take him. It’s not alone in turning down students with severe disabilities. A new investigative report by the Miami Herald and StateImpact Florida found that his case is hardly unique: