Rachel Holland v. Sacramento City School District – PowerPoint Presentation

Summary of Court Case

Rachel Holland was an eleven year old girl that was intellectually disabled. The school wanted Rachel to spend half her day in a special education classroom for academics and the other half the day in a general education classroom for non-academics. Her parents wanted her to be in the general education classroom alongside her other peers. They felt that this was the least restrictive environment according to the IDEA.

Summary of Court Case Continued

Holland’s perspective

Rachel’s parents felt that she should have the right to educated in the general classroom full-time (DeMitchell & Kerns, 1997). Parents were not happy with the schools decision and decided to remove her from the school and place her in a private school while the ruling was being decided.

Sacramento City School District’s Perspective

The school felt that Rachel needed to be in a special education classroom with a more restrictive environment (DeMitchell & Kerns, 1997). Appealed decision to place Rachel in the general education classroom with her non-disabled peers, but wanted to split her between the two classes for each half of the day.

Court Case Ruling

After several years of fighting for what is right for their daughter, the hearing officer determined that the school district failed to provide Rachel with an education in the least restrictive environment. He presented to the court that Rachel was doing well at her current school and found her learning from her peers in the classroom. Hearing officer ordered Rachel be placed in general education classroom with appropriate supportive services and be provided part-time special education teacher and a part-time aide (DeMitchell & Kerns, 1997). According to DeMitchell & Kerns (1997), “the court fashioned a four-factor balancing test that was adapted from the Daniel RR test and the Greer addition of cost as a factor. (para. 26).

Four Factors of Rachel H. Test

1. The education benefits of the general education classroom with supplementary aids and services as compared with the educational benefits of the special classroom (Yell, 2012). 2. The nonacademic benefits of interaction with students without disabilities (Yell, 2012).

3. The effect of the student’s presence on the teacher and on other students in the classroom (Yell, 2012). 4. The cost of mainstreaming (Yell, 2012).

The Four-Factor test includes the following:

Four Factors Continued

The school argued their four points: Rachel had made no progress toward IEP goals and these were based on functional skills. Rachel was not learning from her classmatesIt would cost too much to educate Rachel in a general education classroomRachel would be time consuming for the teacher (KidsTogether, 2010).

Four Points Continued

Rachel’s parents argued their four points:Rachel was learning from her peersThe tests used were inconclusive to measuring Rachel’s learningRachel could benefit from being in a general education classroom with supportive services provided Rachel was not disruptive to the classroom(KidsTogether, 2010).

Special Education Placement

Rachel H. Test is a collaborative decision making process to determine special education placement because it brought forth recognition about evaluating the students education in the least restrictive environment. It determines what is the most beneficial for the student to learnWorking in collaboration with teachers, special education services, and parents are beneficial in determining the proper placement of the student with disabilities.

Justify or Dispute Courts Final Ruling

According to the IDEA, “Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) is the requirement in federal law that students with disabilities receive their education, to the maximum extent appropriate, with nondisabled peers and that special education students are not removed from regular classes unless, even with supplemental aids and services, education in regular classes cannot be achieved satisfactorily” (Disability Right California, 2011, p. 7-1, para. 1). I suggest that the court award Rachel with her right to be educated in the LRE for her which is the general education classroom.

My Opinion on Final Ruling

I believe in the end the court was forced to do what was right for Rachel. Her rights under the IDEA is to be placed in the least restrictive environment She showed improvement while at the private school and was mimicking her peersShe was not disruptive to the class and was progressing toward her goals set for her in her IEP. Overall, this should not have been an issue and it shows that the special education field has came a long way in providing students with disabilities an appropriate education.

What constitutes an appropriate setting for a student with disability like Rachel’s?

Student’s with disabilities have the right to interact and be included with their non-disabled peers. Having an inclusive classroom is beneficial for both students those with disabilities and non-disabilities They can learn from each other such as social and language skills, mimic behavior, and repetition. Allowing them the opportunity to engage with others enhances their full learning potential.

Personal Experience

I had the opportunity to work with students with special needs while working at a local preschool. This classroom was filled with half students with disabilities and the other was non-disabled students. I was assigned as a nurse to care for a little girl with Cerebral Palsy. Her parents were skeptical at first by sending her to school. She did not talk much in the beginning and knew very little about the alphabet or numbers. As the year went on, she became more vocal and learned her classmates names as well as some of her letters, shapes, and numbers. She was provided special education services and was pulled aside during class for one-on-0ne and small group. By her second year at the preschool, she blossomed and was loved by all of her classmates and completely stole my heart.

How does this decision influence today’s determination of appropriate educational settings?

This decision made on behalf of Rachel Holland influences today’s determination of appropriate educational settings because it provides students with disabilities the opportunity to be educated in the general education classroom with appropriate services provided. IEP meetings are scheduled throughout the year to see if the students are reaching their goals. If they are evaluated and determined that the LRE is not a general education classroom then accommodations can be made.

References

DeMitchell, T., & Kearns, G. (1997). Where to educate Rachel Holland? Does least restrictive environment mean no restrictions? Clearing House, 70(3), 161-166. doi:10.1080/00098655.1997.10543918. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy- library.ashford.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=a3cc56e2-8ec0-48df-908a- d369c9f58f25%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGNwaWQmY3VzdGlk PXM4ODU2ODk3JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=9703092478&db=a9h. Disability Rights California. (2011, September 20). Special education rights and responsibility: Information on least restrictive environment. Retrieved from http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/pubs/504001Ch07.pdf. Kids Together, Inc. (2010, June 29). Sacramento v. Rachel H. Retrieved from http://www.kidstogether.org/right-ed_files/rachel.htm. Yell, Mitchell L. (2012) The Law and Special Education: Third Addition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. https://specialeducationandthelaw.weebly.com/major-case-law.html.