Educational inclusion civil rights 'test cases' in 2013 and 2016 and 2010 settlement show systemic problem

Updated April 1, 2017 with link explaining underfunding IDEA Section 619 that Section 611 is used as a supplemental funding stream for.


Henry Frost was a precedent-setting 'test case' 'exception' that cannot become the 'rule' or 'new normal' without more new money to pay the costs of inclusion that individuals cannot.   

  Henry Frost was a civil rights law 'test case' to set a precedent that bad public budget policy still prevents replication of, not 'compliance with the law' of social acceptance and educational inclusion, until building the intersection of 'who pays the costs' of educational inclusion.  

  Neoliberalism known in the USA as neoconservativism/American 'exceptionalism' has the economic 'world view' that 'exceptions' are honored as 'the rule' of an economic 'new normal,' after shock and chaotic crisis, has the fatal flaw of ignorance of the question of 'who pays the costs' that people similarly situated to the exceptional 'test case' when individuals cannot pay.


  Simply following IDEA mandates for a FAPE (free appropriate public education) in a LRE (least restrictive environment) (despite 40 years of federal underfunding of IDEA Sections 611 and 619 grant programs) to educate 3-21 year old children and adolescents with disabilities,

was a choice not made at the Florida state level compensating for bad federal budget policy, 


in order to cut property taxes for low income senior citizens (generationally dividing people for Republican state incumbent and federal candidate electoral benefit) 

 [link dead by 2017 copy and paste follows]


http://www.postonpolitics.com/2007/10/cutting-21-b-is-holding-schools-harmless/ 


Cutting $2.1 B is ‘holding schools harmless’?
Oct 15th, 2007 @ 02:11 pm › Palm Beach Post Staff
Recall lawmakers’ and Gov. Charlie Crist’s vows to “hold schools harmless” in a new property tax plan? Figures released by House and Senate analysts today show a four-year cut to public schools of $2.1 billion — $1.3 billion coming from House Speaker Marco Rubio’s idea to eliminate all property taxes for low-income senior citizens.

In all, the package’s price tag comes in at just over $11 billion — 62 percent higher than the conservative, $6.8 billion four-year cost of the “super” exemption proposal crafted in June.


with tragic consequences for one autistic St. Lucie County schools student Alex Barton and his right to a FAPE in a LRE in St. Lucie County, FL, that required a better-trained teacher than Wendy Portillo, who had Barton's classmates vote on whether to continue to include young, and more susceptible to a lifetime of trauma to recover from Alex, in class.   


[link dead by 2017 copy and paste follows]

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2007/sep/12/school-budget-scenario-could-mean-52m-less-for/


School budget scenario could mean $5.2M less for Martin County
By Kelly Tyko

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Treasure Coast school districts could lose about $24 million in state money if a Department of Education "budget reduction scenario" becomes reality.

All state agencies were required to submit possible ways of how to cut 10 percent from their budgets in August and told to be prepared for a 4 percent cut. The Department of Education's scenario of $754 million in reductions — which includes a $27 million cut in textbooks and $49 million from student transportation — is how a 4 percent cut could affect Florida public schools.

The scenario shows St. Lucie public schools losing $11.5 million in state aid, Martin County losing $5.2 million, Indian River $4.9 million and Okeechobee $2 million. In Gov. Charlie Crist's budget recommendations, which were released last week, K-12 education is spared from major cuts, though community colleges and universities face reductions.

"I think everyone is or should be nervous now, not just school districts," said Ruth Melton, director of legislative relations for the Florida School Boards Association. "We are heading into what will be at least four years, more likely longer, of living in a state where the economy is struggling if not declining. So it's not just this year that cuts will need to be made. It means cuts will need to be made each year."

With a special session by the Legislature being planned, Melton said she believes it's too soon to know what the impact of the state's revenue shortfall will have on education. Perhaps, school districts could be left with bigger cuts. And if the "super exemption" tax reform referendum passes in January, schools districts are estimated to lose $7 billion in money collected in property taxes.

Several legislators have said they would hold schools "harmless" when it comes to budget cuts.

"I consider them men of their word and men of honor," said St. Lucie County Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon, referring to promises from the governor, House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, and Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, to hold education harmless in this year's budget.

But state leaders are trying to cut $1.1 billion from the 2007-2008 budget. A special session will need to be conducted to make the budget changes.

In his budget recommendations, Crist proposes cutting funding for Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the amount allocated for the state's 2-year-old voluntary pre-kindergarten program.

One of the ways Crist proposes to balance the budget, which he said would not "impact on students, school districts or class size reduction," is by moving $120 million from state trust funds into education funding.

That's not an idea Pruitt supports.

"We're not going to raid the future to pay for today," Pruitt said. "We don't like getting bad news, but I'd rather have to take a little bit of medicine now then to deal with catastrophic news later."

Pruitt said education is a priority, but regardless of what happens in the special session — which could be in late October or early November — schools still will receive more money than last year.

Since local school boards have approved their 2007-2008 budgets in the past week and the state sets the school property tax rate, if money is cut from schools, there is not much "wiggle room" to make adjustments, said Vern Pickup-Crawford, a consultant who lobbies for Treasure Coast school districts in Tallahassee.

Staff writer Colleen Wixon

contributed to this report.


 © 2013 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online 


 Fortunately by Nov. 24, 2010, Alex's mother Melissa Barton settled a lawsuit for $350,000.   The settlement came after the 'wave' 2010 Republican election of the House and Senate members who, as Republican and 'tea party'
(later rebranded 'freedom') caucuses, ultimately repealed the CLASS Act, officially by Dec. 2012, (the end of that Congress).  



Similar generational divisions for Republican Senate candidate (and by 2017 a 2-term incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio) electoral benefit (property tax cuts and their devastating consequences for public school provision of FAPE in a LRE) delayed Henry Frost's start date in Hillsborough County, FL Wilson middle school because they could not supply an aide Mr. Frost required to support his full inclusion in 'mainstream' classes.



Hillsborough schools wanted him to attend a special program at Coleman Middle School. Frost, and his family, wanted to attend Wilson Middle School in his South Tampa neighborhood.
Frost doesn’t yet know when he can attend classes since the school district must hire an aide first.
His mother, Lauri Hunt, was surprised by the decision. The family had autism advocates such as Ari Ne’em[a]n listening to the meeting by phone to work on Frost’s behalf.
But she was grateful the school district was insisting on services which included a 1-on-1 aide, that staff were trained how to use Frost’s special hearing aide and that Frost had access to a team of specialist in teaching students with hearing loss.

  The long-term likely fiscal policy reason for the lack of availability of an aide in 2012 for the educational inclusion of Henry Frost


County Administrator Mike Merrill will present a $3 billion budget to commissioners next week for fiscal 2013 that factors in another $14 million in declining property taxes. Since 2007, property taxes collected by the county have fallen about $300 million.



  Henry Frost was honored by ASAN at its Nov 12, 2013 fundraising dinner. His neighborhood school that wouldn't presume him competent with a tablet voice synthesizer app to type words into was in Tampa, Florida.  Hillsborough County government had lost $300 million in property tax revenue from 2007-2012.  Schools had to have been cut, including special education, shown by the delay in allowing Henry Frost to start school because no aide was on staff.  


  The 'Arlington 5' group of educational civil rights 'test case' plaintiffs in Arlington County, VA (wealthier property tax base than Hillsborough County, FL) won their civil rights lawsuit for public school inclusion (with the assistance of similar AAC assistive technology to what Henry Frost used) and were honored at the 2016 ASAN fundraising dinner. 

  Two civil rights lawsuits for inclusion of students with disabilities who needed AAC (assistive technology to communicate) were won within 4 years.  One lawsuit for horrible discrimination against Alex Barton was settled two years earlier in 2010.  The need to file lawsuits in the first place shows a systemic problem of inadequate funding in even wealthy public school districts like Arlington County, VA.