Texas: Blind refused admission to school
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Texas could see an increase in lawsuits when blind children are refused admission to The School for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a result of cuts in the proposed state budget says My Fox
The school is required by state and federal law to enroll students who cannot be adequately served by their local school districts. But under reduced funds in the state Senate’s draft budget, the school would be forced to turn students away, superintendent Bill Daugherty told senators on Monday.
Daugherty said that in the past, parents of blind children have not hesitated to sue if their children are not provided adequate services. Restoring funding that the Senate bill takes away would decrease the likelihood of litigation, he said.
Texas is facing a $27 billion budget shortfall to maintain services.
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It’s criminal that so many states make people with disabilities – a constituency that lacks a lot of power – to suffer so. Fortunately, in CA., people with disabilities are protected under the Lanterman Act: “…a California law, initially proposed by Assemblymember Frank D. Lanterman in 1973 and passed in 1977, that gives people with developmental disabilities the right to services and supports that enable them to live a more independent and normal life.” {wiki}
They probably figure that no parent wants to incur the hassle and cost of lawsuits when they would essentially be trying to squeeze blood from a turnip. If the district doesn’t have the money for the schools, how will it pay a lawsuit?
Of course once the lawyers get their cut the only winners in that scenario would be them.