Georgia’s Problem with Students with Behavioral Disabilities is Everyone’s Problem
How does one teach a student who shows up at school angry, defiant and/or sullen and depressed, who might hear voices—who acts so atypical that there is worry they might lash out at other students or hurt themselves? When they throw a chair, strike another child, or teacher, or hit their head repeatedly against the wall, what should be done?
It’s appalling to see a child handcuffed by a police officer, like recently observed in Kentucky. Likewise, concerns are raised when children are placed in timeout seclusion rooms. But it is scratching the surface not to look into the programs that allow escalation to such severe treatment in the first place.
Children who have behavioral or emotional disabilities need assistance. The questions should be, who will give them the best help, and how?
The Justice Department is getting tough on the Georgia Department of Education for problems with the way they serve students with behavioral disabilities. They claim the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS) segregates students instead of placing them in the regular class.
Advocates, many whom do not work in schools with the children, want all students with disabilities in an inclusion setting. This was the primary purpose of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) 1998, a remolding of the earlier Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. IDEA was further sculpted to fit No Child Left Behind in 2004. It minimizes the need for special self-contained and resource classes for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities.
GNETS started in the 70s and was the brainchild of highly respected University of Georgia special education professor Dr. Mary M. Wood who is now Professor Emerita. But what happened to the grant program? Was it never funded adequately? What Georgia’s Problem with Students with Behavioral Disabilities is Everyone’s Problem: