In a recent article published in the Los Angeles Times, a local pro-bono law firm with the support of Irell & Manella LLP has filed a class action lawsuit against Compton Unified School District (CUSD) on behalf of students and teachers claiming CUSD is not providing a free and appropriate public education to students who are or have experienced “complex trauma” and violence.
This lawsuit will define whether “complex trauma” meets the federal requirements as a disability and could afford protections under several federal laws, such as the Rehabilitation Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If the court does agree with the plaintiffs, this will put the onus on CUSD to deliver
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The legal decision in this case could greatly impact the future of education for students who suffer from horrible circumstances that they bring to school. According to Mark Rosenbaum, an attorney with Public Counsel, “If you really want to do something about the achievement gap, childhood trauma is the place to start” (Watanabe, 2015). In my experience working with students from trauma-filled backgrounds for almost 20 years, I can attest that they bring their home lives to school, and if the education system does not address their needs the consequences for them could be devastating. Issues such as chemical dependency, poverty, violence, and involvement in the prison system are examples of potential negative outcomes for untreated mental health issues including violence and trauma. “For many, such traumas have been multiple and prolonged throughout life, and such experiences are intertwined with mental illness, substance abuse, and behavioral problems” (Whitten, 2012). In my opinion, we cannot afford to ignore this critical issue. If we do we will pay in other ways later, not to mention that many young people in this country might never become contributing members of their
Summary of Source The editorial discloses the power that the Court adheres to and whether it should be accountable for the decision making of fugitive slaves. The writer had discussed that in no way did the verdict of the Dred Scott case follow an act of law, but was merely “nullity.” During the settlement, they decided that since Dred Scott’s master had brought him on free land in Missouri or of the United States without having a citizenship, which resulted in him having no case. It continues on to say that the jurisdiction of the case was influenced by opinion, which did not involve any legalities.
Case Name, Citation, Year Safford Unified School Dist. #1 v. Redding 557 U.S. 364 (2009) Facts of the Case Redding was an eighth grade student, who was suspected of having over the counter drugs on school grounds. Over the counter drugs on school grounds is a violation of school policy.
Athletic Director Bob Marcus has quite the challenge in allocating the athletic department funds appropriately throughout all the programs within Oakbend Senior High School. After critically analyzing the case study it was quite clear some sports such as football and girls basketball received much more funding compared to other sports such as cross country and track and field. Throughout this case brief an effective solution that is both fair and in line with the districts mission will be expanded on to assist Bob Marcus is making the necessary budget cuts to provide a successful athletic program in the future. Marcus needs to cut about $80,000 from the previous budget plan to accommodate the funding cuts made by the school.
The plaintiffs in the case, Brandon’s parents, were suing based on the school failing to handle harassment at the school. More claims of wrongful death because of negligence and discrimination against Brandon’s disabilities were a part of the case, as well as suing parents for harassment and emotional distress. The Myers had claimed that the staff members were fostering a system where bullying was being able to thrive in the school and have no consequence, which still seemed to be the case when the life threatening notes were given to the school and no direct action was being taken for the victim. This also includes how the district officials, along with the employees, had kept the evidence and destroyed it to essentially keep the school protected. In March of 2010, the plaintiff’s Rehabilitation Act claim was dismissed in favor of the defendants, but kept all other respects in the case.
The School-to-Prison Pipeline: A Primer for Social Workers, a study by Susan McCarter (2017), was written to give a summary of the School-to-prison pipeline in an attempt to break down the factors surrounding children being funneled into this path by their respective school systems around the country. The author explains the correlation between the School-to-prison pipeline and its disparate outcomes for students of color, students with disabilities, and students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (p. 54-55). McCarter presents implications for social workers and multiple specific strategies to reduce the detrimental effects of the School-to-prison pipeline. Susan McCarter, PhD, MSW, is an associate professor
The literature review clearly has shown that there is a phenomenon called School to Prison, Schoolhouse to Jailhouse, or Public Education to Prison Pipeline. Therefore, Jeremy Thompson (2016) says, “Zero-tolerance policies in schools result in high suspension rates and expulsion rates among students in general, but disproportionately affect minority students, especially African-Americans because students who have been suspended or expelled are more likely than not to end up in the Criminal Justice
Americans, when they think of Civil Rights probably think of the Civil Rights Movement. During the civil rights era African Americans fought to be treated as equals by fighting segregated schools, for their voting rights, and for their basic right that every American has today. To say that education is our civil rights movement of today is inaccurate. Antonio Alvarez’s narrative “Out Of My Hands” focuses on a financially struggling family, but proving that they can succeed. David L. Kirp’s article “The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools” reinforces the idea that even though a community might be poor, that doesn’t have to reflect the quality of education students receive.
Everyday Braxton goes to school and does the correct things needed to be known as a good kid. One day a fight happens in front of Braxton and tries to break the fight up, instead of breaking the fight up, Braxton ends up being fought also. He is told that he is punished instead of helped. In the short run everyone thinks he will learn from his mistakes, in the long run, this is ran through all of the colleges and nobody accepts him, Braxton drops out. When it comes to student misbehavior, most schools have long practiced a basic system of crime and punishment, isolating the perceived “offender” through detention or suspension.
”Most people love to read books that they can relate with. If a student is being abused and reads a book about abuse they know that they are not alone. “To provide materials which reflect the ideas and beliefs of religious, social, political, historical, and ethnic groups and their contribution to the American and world heritage and culture, thereby enabling students to develop an intellectual integrity in forming judgement”(Spring Lake Public Schools July 21, 1997). This shows that students at Spring Lake have the opportunity to read about both sides of the issue and form an opinion
My findings showed that millions of kids experience some form of trauma each year, therefore, the brains of our young population are being negatively obstructed. Because of the impact, attention problems are formed, aggression, anxiety, and
Purpose and Focus: The purpose and main point of chapter one of Hope and Healing in Urban Education are that youth in low-income environments need extra hope and attention in order to succeed. Shawn Ginwright explains that while it may be difficult to reach these communities, it’s a worthwhile investment of time and resources to improve them. Ginwright uses personal examples of people who have been affected by the struggle of living in a crime-ridden and low-income neighborhood in San Francisco. The eldest sibling examined, Tanya, a community organizer suffered the loss of her younger brother, who was murdered while he was visiting her on holiday from college.
In Doe v. Koger, a student with intellectual disabilities was expelled based on disciplinary issues. The school denied the student a due-process hearing for students with disabilities. When the family took the school district to court, it was ruled that before changing the placement of a student with disabilities through long term suspension or expulsion, a hearing must be held to determine whether the child’s inappropriate behavior was a result, or manifestation of his/her disability. Doe v. Kroger was a monumental court case in the history of special education because it determined that students with disabilities can in fact be suspended or expelled as a disciplinary measure, but only after a manifestation determination has taken place
Doing so has had countless adverse effects on the youth. Despite this, many prisons and facilities have turned a blind eye to these negative factors, and continue to plant them in the adult systems. Children should not have to be put in jails and prisons with adults because they have an increased chance of being raped, educational services are often too expensive, and their minds are inclined to becoming mentally unstable, which often leads to suicide. Solutions to these issues include lifting the ban that prevents grants to be awarded to inmates, and abolishing children from adult jail facilities altogether. Conversely, others may argue that these children deserve this treatment, children are becoming more intelligent and know right from wrong, and that these sentences will show others what can potentially happen.
Remove or Revise Zero-tolerance policies are policies that have been adapted in work places, communities, and, most frequently, schools. Depending on how certain schools are run and who they are run by, zero-tolerance policies could be positive and helpful or negative and harmful. Many people wonder are these policies really effective in reducing crime and creating safer environments in schools like lawmakers claim these policies are doing ; most of the opponents to zero-tolerance policies believe that the policies are just cruel punishments that add to the problems that already exist in our schools and communities. There are obviously those who feel that the policies do exactly what they say they do; advocates for zero-tolerance policies
Introduction Person-in-Environment Framework In our practice as social workers, we are urged to view and understand human behavior as a set of complex interactions between individuals and their environment. This is known as the person-in-environment framework. This framework encourages us to acknowledge the influence of environment on our lives and provides a beneficial framework to think about and understand human behavior (Hutchinson, 2017). Understanding our work from this perspective allows us to approach our clients from a multi-dimensional stance, taking into consideration how various factors, including but not limited to, race, class, age and gender create individual identity and shapes an individual’s experience in the context of