Special
Education
by
Herbert D. Hinkle, Esq.
Herbert D. Hinkle
Law Office
2651 Main Street
Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648
(609) 896-4200 or (215) 860-2100
Not all disabilities
are profound, but even comparably mild disabilities can profoundly
affect the life of a child.
M.S. is a 13 year
old child in the 7th grade. Despite a learning disability,
M.S. has an above-average I.Q. and the potential to lead a normal
life. Unfortunately, M.S. is unable to read. Throughout her public
school career, a variety of remedial approaches had been tried - -
most involved additional instruction for a special education teacher.
The results were marginal at best.
As M.S. grew,
her inability to read became more debilitating. In contrast to the
early grades, all school work is based on reading, whether the subject
is math, science or English. Moreover, embarrassment over her inability
to read alienated M.S. from her peers. Unless remediated, her inability
to read stood to undermine her chances of success in adult life.
The family believed
the school district had sufficient opportunity to produce results
and that it had failed. They sought placement in a private school
which specialized in teaching reading and building self esteem. The
school district opposed this, arguing that M.S. had made progress
commensurate with her disability and that it had taught her a variety
of coping strategies, such as using audio materials to replace text
books. The school district also pointed out that M.S. was doing well
in many subjects using these strategies.
In ruling in favor
of M.S., the hearing officer was concerned by the fact that IEP goals
and objectives in reading had been repeated year after year only with
marginal progress. The court also seemed impressed with the mother's
argument that coping strategies involving audio tapes were of little
use in the adult world where M.S. could not handle most jobs without
better reading skills. Consequently, the hearing officer ordered placement
in a private school.
A copy of the
M.S. decision can be obtained at no charge by contacting Mr.
Hinkle's office.
Copyright 1998
H.D. Hinkle. All rights reserved.
Mr. Hinkle maintains
a multi-state law practice with offices in Lawrenceville, Florham
Park, and Marlton, NJ, and Yardley, Pa. Mr. Hinkle and his colleagues
Ira Fingles, and Paul Prior lecture and write frequently on topics
of law, aging, and disability, and are available
to speak to groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
at no charge. Call (609) 896-4200.
