State orders regular class for disabled first-grader

By Rachel E. Blakeman

Ft. Wayne--The Journal Gazette: Thursday, December 14, 2000

Lakeland School Corp. is reviewing the findings of an Indiana Department of
Education hearing officer who has ordered a first-grader with Down
syndrome to remain in a regular classroom but with specific
accommodations, school Superintendent Russell Hodges said Wednesday.

Lakeland is not looking to appeal the decision right now, Hodges said.

The ruling came Friday, said Amy Sutton, the mother of 7-year-old Benjamin
Sutton.

In addition to keeping Benjamin in his regular classroom, the ruling ordered
an Indiana Department of Education employee to monitor the
implementation of the hearing officer's orders no less than once a month.

Amy Sutton and her husband, Ben Sutton, and the school district went
through a three-day due-process hearing in October, where each side stated
its case to Thomas Huberty, the hearing officer who is also an education
professor at Indiana University.

There were six points argued in the case and Huberty ruled in the Suttons'
favor on all of them, Amy Sutton said. Huberty issued 11 recommendations
in his ruling. Some of the other demands Huberty placed on the school
include: Hiring a consultant trained in integrating children with Down
syndrome into regular education classrooms to work with the faculty and
staff. Including the parents in deciding educational goals for their son.

Benjamin has been placed in Parkside Elementary School general
education classrooms for both his kindergarten and first-grade years at the
request of his parents, Amy Sutton said.

Amy Sutton, who is a former Parkside teacher, said her son has been
diagnosed as being mildly mentally handicapped. The school was interested
this year in placing Benjamin in a special education classroom for part of the
day, to which Amy Sutton objected, she said.

Her son was required to stay in his current classroom while the proceedings
occurred but wasn't given adequate support from the staff, she said.

"Hodges said he didn't want to talk about an individual case. It is school
policy to review with parents where a child would best be placed after an
evaluation of the child's needs and skills, he said. Goals are also
established at this meeting.

The officer's findings were consistent with state and federal law, said Julie
Carter, a Merrillville attorney representing the Suttons.

Many parents are hesitant to fight a school district regarding placement of a
special-needs child, she said.

The ruling favoring the Suttons could inspire other parents of children with
Down syndrome in the area to stand up to schools, said Debbie Gavette,
president of the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Indiana. "This
could very possibly set a precedent," she said.

Lakeland attorney James Abbs did not return a phone message from The
Journal Gazette left for him Wednesday afternoon