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By Lee Funk
Monday, October 01, 2012
Applying a 30-year-old Supreme Court ruling to a California case, a federal district court found that schools do not have to meet the top level when providing services for students with disabilities – only a “basic floor of opportunity.”
The decision has far reaching implications for officials throughout this state because so many requirements of California’s education code can easily be interpreted as exceeding those outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, often forcing districts to offer programs for students in special education that go far beyond the scope of those provided for their peers in general education.
At issue was the type of services offered by Poway Unified for a deaf and hard of hearing girl who was transitioning from middle school to high school. The family had requested a “word-for-word” transcription service called Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) while the district was willing to provide TypeWell, which