Philadelphia School District – U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis is expected to approve a settlement, ordering the district to notify parents of changes in school assignments for autistic children and therefore giving families the opportunity to respond to and plan for them, the Philly.com website reports. Autism Daily Newscast covered this story earlier this month here.
Sharon Romero, mum to Joshua, 11 who has autism worried how her son would cope with the Philadelphia School District’s policy of transferring autistic students to different schools without notice.
Three years ago Joshua became one of four named plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit challenging the district’s policy.
Sharon told:
“No parent [of autistic children] should have to go through what I went through. They’re already dealing with way too much.”
The settlement could be finalized next month, the transfer policy now affects 3,000 Philadelphia students.
Sonja Kerr, cocounsel on the case and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia’s director of disability rights said:
“The teachers who work with these children every day and who are in the best position to help families figure our appropriate programs were not given the opportunity to do so.”
The settlement will make districts notify parents by January that their child could be transferred to a new school that fall. If details of the new school are known then officials wail have to disclose these details to the parents and inform them of their right to meet formally with school officials about the transition.
The district will also have to produce and publish official transfer letters by June.
Sharon said:
“that the district has agreed to settle and move forward in a positive way.”
The original article by Kristen A. Graham on the phily.com website can be read here