The United States Supreme Court issued a recent ruling that will affect all parents who have students in the public school system, including our Fort Zumwalt School District. The case concerns students with special needs and disabilities that are covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (#IDEA), a federal law that requires a “free and appropriate public education” for disabled students.  The case ruled on by the Supreme Court involved a boy who attended public school and who was given specialized instruction to deal with his learning and behavioral issues.  His parents, not happy with the instruction given by the public school, sent the boy to a private school and then demanded the public school district to pay for his $70,000.00 private education, asserting the IDEA and stating the school district was not doing enough to meet their son’s needs.
    The Supreme Court ruled this week that the IDEA requires that a public school district must provide students with disabilities the proper education and support to help the child achieve meaningful and substantive education goals, not just a “deminimis education” program.  In essence, every school district, including Fort Zumwalt/Francis Howell/Wentville/St. Charles, etc., will need to provide a tailored education program for every disabled student in the district.
    What does this mean for all the parents who have students in public schools? For those with disabled students, it is a win-win.  For everyone else, it may mean less financial resources for all the other student programs, since more of our tax dollars that support the public schools will have to be spent on the disabled student programs, leaving less money for the gifted and regular student programs.  As a parent, you may want to talk to your child’s teachers and counselors to make sure your own child is receiving a proper education for his or her own needs.