D.C. education officials will once again fail to meet their promises to follow federal deadlines for testing and helping mentally ill and disabled children, city leaders admitted in federal court Monday.
Under a consent decree D.C. signed to get out of a decade-long class-action suit stemming from the collapse of special education, city officials promised to meet federal deadlines in at least 65 percent of its special education cases by June. But Attorney General Peter Nickles said Monday the goal was a long shot, though “miracles have happened.”
D.C. was supposed to meet deadlines in at least half of its special education cases by last summer. As of April 4, it was meeting deadlines in only 23 percent of its cases, according to court monitor statistics obtained by The Examiner. But that low figure still represents the best performance in years. Behind the numbers are nearly 12,000 children waiting for federally mandated help for their disabilities. The schools’ failure to help them has jeopardized the health and welfare of thousands of children and cost the city tens of millions of dollars in costly lawsuits.
Nickles said city leaders are committed to special education reform and that the statistics will soon reflect the commitment.
“We’ve turned the ship around,” he said.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman expressed frustration over the continuing failure of the city to fix its $300 million-plus special education system and dropped a broad hint he may hold the city in contempt if things don’t improve quickly. Friedman said he was pleased with the limited progress made by State Superintendent Deborah Gist and D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. He cautioned, however, that the reform efforts must move quickly and have to be broader.
“People have to feel that the system works,” Friedman said.
Plaintiff lawyer Ira Burnim said he was worried about the pace of reforms but satisfied that school officials were serious about fixing the system.
