Star-Telegram article on SwDs/Katrina

Posted on Thu, Sep. 22, 2005
 
CLASSROOM COPING
Schools addressing special needs of some evacuees by adding more 
specialized staff
By Eva-Marie Ayala
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Lathon Marshall, 11, has always had a hard time adjusting to school 
because of his learning disability.

But after his family lost everything from Hurricane Katrina, his mother, 
Latanya Biagas, 34, worried about his transition into a new school district.

When Biagas enrolled Lathon in the Mansfield school district's Cross 
Timbers Intermediate School, she told officials that he has attention 
deficit hyperactivity disorder. School officials placed him in a resource 
language arts class and immediately planned evaluations to assess his needs.

Biagas said she's grateful that the transition was easier than she thought.

"It helps a lot. ... Lathon is one those difficult kids where school is 
concerned," Biagas said. "That's why we have to be on top of his ADHD."

As children displaced from last month's hurricane settle into new 
classrooms, North Texas school officials are doing their best to help 
those with special education needs.

Some districts such as Fort Worth and Hurst-Euless-Bedford are hiring 
additional staff. Education experts don't know how many evacuees will 
need special education services but are estimating about 10 percent to 15 
percent of the students will need help. Nationwide, about 12 percent of 
students have a learning disability.

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires a school 
district to provide free special education services to a child comparable 
to those at his previous school if he transfers during the school year. 
But that child must have had an individual education plan, and many 
student records from hurricane-affected areas are still unavailable. 
Districts that fail to provide such services could face disciplinary and 
legal actions.

Vicki Gilliam, an educational specialist with the Education Service 
Center Region XI in Fort Worth, said if districts can't obtain valid 
data, campus officials will meet with staff and parents to authorize 
temporary services until data are received from the old district or until 
the present current one collects new data. Then a second meeting will be 
held to finalize the student's new education plan, she said.

James Wendorf, executive director of the National Center for Learning 
Disabilities, said families should give schools as much detail as 
possible about previous services. Something that may seem small could be 
important in signaling exactly what it was, he said.

Wendorf said hurricane-affected families are dealing with so much that 
districts must be persistent in getting student records from Louisiana or 
Mississippi, which agencies are releasing as they can.

"We're pleased that the state is proceeding in a cautious way" in 
providing services, Wendorf said of Texas. "Now, directors need to see 
that the data is being collected as soon as possible and then being 
shared at the building level and that children continue to get the 
support they're entitled to with no gaps."

Claude Cunningham, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction 
in Mansfield, said some students are living with relatives while parents 
address their situation, and those relatives may not know exactly what 
the children need.

He said officials are placing children in classes as soon as they can 
with what they believe is comparable service, but they want the children 
to settle in before doing extensive evaluations.

"These kids have had plenty to deal with. Let's get them in class, get 
situated and acclimated and then we can see what additional needs are," 
he said.

Gilliam said state funding to account for those students is expected to 
increase over time and other funding assistance is still being determined.

The H-E-B school district, which has about 250 hurricane-displaced 
students, hired two additional diagnosticians temporarily to help 
identify students with needs, spokeswoman Judy Ramos said.

Fort Worth officials are requesting additional special education staff, 
in part because of Katrina, and are in the process of finding out how 
many of its new 917 students need such services, said Cyndi Walker, 
director of special education. But every day, that number is growing.

Walker's staff has been going into shelters to talk with families and 
talking with incoming parents to see which students may have special 
education needs, she said.

"We're trying hard to make sure none of these children fall through the 
cracks," she said. "We are looking for them. It's just so overwhelming 
what they've had to deal with so far."

Biagas is still looking for housing, a job and missing relatives. Knowing 
school officials are taking care of her son takes away one worry, she said.

"I'm comfortable with them here," she said. "The people at the district 
have been nothing but nice to us. That's why I want to stay here and make 
it our home."


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ONLINE: National Center for Learning Disabilities, www.ncld.org

Eva-Marie Ayala, (817) 548-5534 eayala@Star-telegram.com



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