A new study finds the majority of special education students in San Diego schools are being segregated from the rest of the student body. That's one of the problems researchers found in the district's special education program. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has more.
Harvard University researcher Thomas Hehir conducted the study. He says many local schools can meet the needs of special education students but choose to send them to a select group of campuses in the district. Hehir says once the kids get there, they're segregated from the rest of the students. He says that's unacceptable.
Hehir: Because the kid has a disability, doesn't mean he should be packed up in a bus and sent somewhere else unless his needs really, really cannot be met. The notion of treating people in a very different way can be viewed by some people as a discriminatory way.
Hehir also found that too many low-performing black and Latino students are being sent to special education classes. He's calling on the district to put some major reforms in place.
Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.
