DATE: Friday, May 16, 1997                  TAG: 9705160002

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

DOUBLE STANDARD A NEW LAW EMPOWERED SCHOOL OFFICIALS TO DEAL WITH DISABLED STUDENTS WHO ARE DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS DOESN'T GO FAR ENOUGH.

A lengthy amendment to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) passed the U.S. Congress this week by a wide margin in both chambers and awaits only a presidential signature before becoming law.

This is a vital piece of legislation that, among other things, gives teachers and school officials more rights and authority to deal with disruptive and violent students.

Unfortunately, the law does not go far enough. School officials will still have a two-tiered system of discipline to contend with. Offenders who are part of the general school population will be dealt with one way, while disabled children who break school rules will continue to receive preferential treatment.

The original IDEA bill, passed in 1975, has been called one of the most important pieces of legislation ever enacted for American children. It guaranteed the right of public education to all disabled children - ``in the least restrictive'' environment - until age 21. This concept was revolutionary 22 years ago when many children were simply denied a public education if their disability required too many educational resources.

Because of that single law, millions of children with everything from learning disabilities to severely disabling physical handicaps, have been given a free public education. Last year, according to U.S. Department of Education estimates, there were roughly 5.4 million disabled school-age children in the U.S.

The downside to the original legislation is only partially remedied in the new: Under the terms of the old law, school administrators were severely restricted in their ability to discipline disabled students.

Architects of the 1975 law feared that frustrated school officials would label hard-to-educate children ``discipline problems'' to remove them from school and avoid the sometimes daunting task of educating them. The legislation tried to guard against such actions.

The provision was well-intentioned, but has had unintended consequences. School authorities complain that it has sometimes served to shield violent and anti-social disabled students from the disciplinary procedures used for their non-disabled counterparts.

The rise of violence, drugs and weapons in public schools has been accompanied by an increase in the numbers of disabled children engaging in such violent behavior. Because of the federal restrictions, however, school officials face a double standard of discipline.

The new law broadens the authority of schools to discipline disabled students with suspension or expulsion, but orders schools to continue to educate them in an alternative manner. Disruptive students without the disabled label are still liable to tougher sanctions.

An amendment to eliminate the preference from the bill was, unfortunately, defeated Wednesday in the U.S. Senate.

Washington set out to ensure that disabled children have the same opportunities to learn as non-disabled students. Good. But disabled children must be held to the same standards as other students in matters of safety and order in the public schools.

IDEA is a good law with a flaw that still needs to be addressed.

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