"During their public school years, children with disabilities are entitled to a menu of special services, such as music or occupational therapy, extra reading help and door-to-door transportation. The law also requires they be given an Individualized Education Program, a blueprint tailored to their needs with involvement from educators and parents.
It's a comforting safety net that often ends abruptly when students leave school. They might get help securing a job, enrolling in a technical school or giving college a try. But it's just as likely they won't, says Karen Leggett of Silver Spring, Md., who leads a group trying to improve the transition out of high school for students with disabilities.
Leggett said students with disabilities face waiting lists and tight funding for services once they leave high school. "Nobody really prepares you for that," she said."The legalities?
"Educators are legally required to prepare special education students for life after school under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. The law says that by the time students with disabilities are 16, schools are supposed to provide planning that may include more school, getting a job or trying to live independently.
The special education law covers about 7 million students with disabilities in public schools."The realities?
"For many schools, transition probably hasn't been a focus because of the emphasis the 2002 No Child Left Behind education law places on ensuring that students with disabilities are being taught core academic subjects such as math and reading, said Alexa Posny, commissioner of education in Kansas and former director of special education at the U.S. Education Department.
There is a sense that the focus on academics has come at the expense of teaching so-called "life skills," such as navigating public transit or learning to shop for groceries, said Nancy Reder, deputy executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education."
Thanks NCLB, for yet another way for this law to hurt public education in this country. Speaking as someone with a child with special ed needs, it is vital to teach your child about day to day life. I did it but what about a parent who - for whatever reason - can't? We'll just get one more adult in our country who can't function.
This country - both in education and health care - can be so penny-wise and pound foolish.