Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

State: CT’s 2 largest school districts violate special education laws

  • Education
  • by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
  • August 19, 2016
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"
New Visions Program in Hartford.

CtMirror.org

New Visions program in Hartford.

The two largest school districts in Connecticut are not providing students with disabilities with the education federal and state laws require, the Connecticut State Department of Education has determined after long investigations.

Hartford schools, the department wrote in a decision this week, are consigning too many expelled students, both disabled and those not requiring special education, to a substandard program known as New Visions.

“A properly expelled student with a disability has a continuing right to receive a free and appropriate education… The law is clear,” the education department’s special education experts wrote. “The students placed at New Visions received intermittent, inadequate or no special education and related services… New Visions has resulted in the provision of little education to some of the district’s most educationally needy students… It cannot be overlooked that the New Visions Program also fails to provide an adequate education to general education students.”

The state’s decision followed a random review of 30 student records and meetings with staff. It was prompted by a complaint from four students represented by attorneys with Greater Hartford Legal Aid and The Center for Children’s Advocacy.

In a separate decision released June 30, the education department wrote that Bridgeport is not properly identifying children who need special education services or providing them with appropriate services when they are identified.

“It is concluded that the district is found to have been out of compliance with [federal laws]. Required corrective actions will follow,” education department special education experts wrote.

Findings that Hartford and Bridgeport are violating special education law are not new.

Related links

Educating students during an expulsion: Tutoring, alternative schools or nothing?

State: Bridgeport “systemically violated” special education lawsState intervenes in Hartford’s treatment of students with disabilities

In January 2014, the state ruled that Bridgeport Public Schools “systemically violated” the law and said it “has no policies in place to monitor students’ behavior and performance to ensure all students with disabilities are located and identified.”

The state gave district officials at the time three weeks to create a plan to resolve the problems. Two and a half years later, the department has determined, after another complaint, that the problem has not been resolved. The latest decision sets more specific benchmarks to bring the district into compliance with state and federal law.

In August 2011, the state concluded that Hartford “has failed on a systemic basis” and “appears poised to repeat the violation.” The state ordered the district at the time to provide updates on its progress to improve special education services.

Now the department has ordered Hartford to stop sending special education students to New Visions – which they characterized as “a guided study hall.”

The students are taught in “a garage bay complete with garage doors and a loud heating/cooling/ventilation unit that one would expect to see in a garage,” the state wrote. The state also “strongly urged” Hartford to stop sending regular education students to the program.

A Hartford Public Schools spokesman was not able to say Friday whether the district would continue using the facility, where historically about 50 students have been schooled on any given day.  The state describes the facility as “dark and in disrepair.”

“We have received the state’s report. We take this matter very seriously and Superintendent [Beth] Narvaez has prioritized service to students with special needs,” said Pedro Zayas, Hartford schools spokesman. “We have already been planning for improvements to the New Visions program before this report was issued. We will review the report carefully and its recommendations to make the appropriate changes at New Visions.”

The education that children are receiving in these alternative education settings has been the focus of much debate at the state Capitol. Students are often sent there when they miss too much school or get into trouble.

Frustrated by a lack of state monitoring or guidance for these programs, attorneys with the Center for Children’s Advocacy sued the state in federal court in 2015, demanding that their clients be provided with the education the law requires.

In the next legislative session, the General Assembly passed a law setting standards for the education of expelled students. The state also is working on guidelines for all alternative education programs, as required by a separate law passed in 2015.

Marisa Halm, an attorney with the Center for Children’s Advocacy, which filed the complaint and lawsuit, said during an interview that the state’s latest decision has wide reach.

“The impact that it’s going to have is really a chilling effect. Districts really need to step up,” she said. “These programs are typical, but there are some alternative programs that are robust, too… We are really hopeful this is going to force districts to undergo some really positive chances.”

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas is CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter and an original member of the CT Mirror staff. She has won first-place awards for investigative reporting from state, New England, and national organizations. Before joining CT Mirror in late 2009, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. She has also worked for Congressional Quarterly and the Toledo Free Press. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Report: Twice as many CT high schoolers are in danger of being held back
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

Research released Monday confirms what many parents and educators already suspected — more students than ever are falling behind during the pandemic, a problem especially present among those learning entirely from home in some of the state’s larger districts. The RISE Network tracked about 12,000 students in nine high schools in historically struggling districts to […]

State’s largest teachers’ union urges educators be prioritized in vaccine rollout
by Adria Watson

Educators said teachers should be able to receive the vaccine immediately when the next phase begins.

Lamont’s education funding plans under fire
by Frankie Graziano & Ahjane Forbes | Connecticut Public Radio

As Gov. Ned Lamont rolls out his budget for the coming biennium, education funding seems poised to become a battleground.

CT budget debate heats up quickly over equity
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Urban lawmakers on the Appropriations Committee charged Gov. Ned Lamont's budget largely ignores inequities in education and health care.

Miguel Cardona is one step closer to becoming next U.S. education secretary
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

In a swift meeting, senators voted 17 to 5 to forward Cardona's nomination to the U.S. Senate for final approval.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Lamont’s new vaccination priorities are simple and smart
by Richard Davies

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s new age-eligibility vaccine plan is simple, smart and straightforward. The more complicated the rules are, the greater the chance of screw-ups and of well-connected people getting their shots before they should. The governor is doing a good job.

Opinion Gas pipeline will threaten water quality, wildlife and wetlands
by Susan Eastwood

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has granted tentative approval of the 401 water quality certification for the Pomfret to Killingly natural gas pipeline. I urge DEEP to deny the 401 certification, as the proposed pipeline would violate the Connecticut’s water quality standards, and the conditions in the draft certification fail to protect our streams, wetlands, and wildlife.

Opinion Connecticut and the other Connecticut. Which will endure?
by Ezra Kaprov

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘Connecticut’? Possibly, you think of a 43-year-old Puerto Rican man who arrived here with his family following Hurricane Maria. He works full-time as a machinist at the Sikorsky plant, and he coaches a prizefighter on the side.

Opinion COVID-19 increases urgency for legislature to pass medical aid-in-dying law
by Dr. Gary Blick

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the profound tragedy of loved ones dying alone, in a hospital or nursing home, without the care and comfort of loved ones surrounding them. This pandemic also demonstrates the fragility of life, the limits of modern medicine to relieve suffering, and has magnified the systemic racial disparities in our healthcare system, resulting in higher hospitalization and death rates for people in communities of color. We must eradicate these disparities, so everyone has equal access to the full range of end-of-life care options.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO