Utah HB317: Segregating Special Education Students

A newspaper article from the Salt Lake Tribune caught my eye. Mr. Michael Lee authored, “Law aiming to protect teachers could harm students with disabilities, opponents claim,” on April 15, 2024, covering HB317. In summation, the bill would prohibit school districts from placing students in classrooms with a “predictable threat of serious bodily injury” as well as somehow keep classrooms free of disruptions. Opponents of the bill believe that it will segregate children with disabilities, and proponents feel that their children are suffering from disruptions in their learning.

First, I need to get something out of the way: I was a teacher for 14 years. I taught middle school science, and I can’t even imagine a classroom without disruptions. My class was strictly, resolutely, passionately inclusive - in all my years of teaching, I ALWAYS wanted my classroom to represent the world. I believe that the teacher’s union, cited in the article, would agree: It isn’t the neurodiverse children that are the main source of disruptions and I hope that pointing fingers at children with disabilities was not their intention. (Note: I am a proud union sister!)

Secondly, and more importantly, the notion of segregation due to behavior resonated with me, especially given that the focus was on students with disabilities and potentially challenging behaviors resulting from their disability.  I had so many questions!

What about a functional behavior analysis?

If a child is dysregulated so often that the dysregulation is 1) predictable, and 2) a serious threat to other students safety, then why wouldn’t schools and districts be advocating for more functional behavior analyses (FBAs)? An FBA will look at the child’s disability, antecedent events, the behavior, and the result. The analysis seeks to determine what is causing the dysregulation, and identify supports for the child. No child wants to be dysregulated. A dysregulated child is a child in crisis, and needs support immediately in the moment and long-term to help the child develop.

What about a manifest determination hearing?

When a child does something where the student code of conduct can remove them from their placement - their classroom, the school - there needs to be a manifest determination hearing. Essentially, this is a meeting to determine if the behavior or action is a manifestation of the disability. It sounds straightforward, but as an advocate, I can tell you: It is a scary meeting, and I always encourage my clients to seek an attorney. Anyway. My point is that the schools in Utah should be following this procedure; if a child’s behavior is a “predictable” threat of “serious bodily harm” then there shoudl be a manifestation determination hearing. If the behavior is a manifestation of the disability, the child needs more support. 

Do you see a theme here? Children with disabilities who exhibit certain behaviors need more support.  Also, for the record: In my years in the classroom, students who had the most challenging behaviors were not students with disabilities. They were the students who had experienced trauma. My school district required all teachers to get training because my district recognized teachers need training to understand and support students. 

What about IDEA?

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) discusses the placement of the child in the least restrictive environment (LRE). I am an inclusionist - I firmly believe that atypically developing children and typically developing should learn together. IDEA encourages school districts to place children in general education classrooms… and to do so with adequate support. Segregation of children with challenging behaviors is not the solution; providing more supports is the solution.

What about the aides? Special education teachers?

There is a nationwide shortage of special education teachers and aides, and Utah is struggling. From 2019-2022 (the three years I searched), The US Dept of Ed showed that Utah had a special education teacher shortage. In 2022-2023, the Utah Teacher Shortage Areas (Criticality Index) listed 596 special education teachers as not fully certified. These individuals held irregular, provisional, temporary, or emergency certification, even though special education requires a depth of knowledge usually at the Masters degree level. How can schools and school districts provide adequate supports to students with disabilities if their teachers don’t understand neurodiverse students?

These questions aren’t answered, and it truly saddened me to read that there is legislation seeking to “shame and blame” rather than understand and support. Mr. Lee’s coverage was unbiased; he provided comments from opponents and supporters. Hopefully, the debate will help us see that resources are required for all students to have a safe learning environment. Until we have the staff and training in place, we all suffer because we are all connected.