Palo Alto Unified School District’s decision to close two classrooms for students with moderate-to-severe disabilities and move the students to other school campuses has triggered an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), according to a letter from attorneys representing students in the program and their parents.
The investigation is in response to the district's Feb. 6 announcement that it would be closing two moderate-to-severe classrooms at Ohlone and Escondido elementary schools and moving the students to Nixon and Barron Park elementary schools in the 2023-2024 school year. Currently, the four schools each have one class for students of all grade levels with moderate to severe disabilities.
The closure on the two campuses would result in two classes each at Nixon and Barron Park: one for students in second grade or younger and a second for the third- through fifth-graders. The district's moderate/severe programs currently taught at Fairmeadow, El Carmelo and Walter Hays elementary schools are not affected and will continue.
But parents contend the closures are discriminatory and prevent the students from accessing choice schools. Escondido has a Spanish dual-immersion choice program. Ohlone has an "open school" philosophy and a working farm on campus. Parents have said they never had any input on the decision to close the classes.
District Superintendent Don Austin said in a text message on Friday, May 26, that splitting the classes along grade levels "has been recommended for many years predating my arrival. The programmatic change … better serve(s) kids throughout our district. The benefit of grade-appropriate settings isn't really in question."
Austin said the district wouldn't comment on the OCR complaint at this time.
On May 4, representatives from The Youth & Education Law Project at the Stanford Law School, which is representing the complainant, and the district met with an OCR mediator to try to settle the complaint and avoid an OCR investigation, but the negotiation was unsuccessful.
In a May 15 letter, attorneys for the complainant asked the district to keep Room 19, which serves students with moderate-to-severe disabilities at Ohlone school, open until the conclusion of the investigation.
They contend that OCR will find that the classroom closures are discriminatory under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits exclusion ro denial of benefits from any program or activity that receives federal assistance.
Although the section doesn't contain a formal “stay put” provision, the complaint is akin to a provision in the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, which mandates that children remain in their “current educational placement” pending the outcome of a due process complaint.
"It is our position that the District’s closure of Room 19 constitutes unlawful discrimination and that OCR will arrive at the same conclusion. If this is the case, the Ohlone Room 19 students will have to transition schools twice in the span of a few months," the letter stated.
"Room 19 students have moderate-to-severe disabilities, which make transitions incredibly difficult. Forcing them to transition twice in the span of several months will disrupt their entire school year and make it difficult for them to make meaningful educational progress in the 2023-24 school year.
"Therefore, the District has an obligation as a flagship educational institution to take precautions to protect Ohlone’s Room 19 students by keeping Room 19 open until the conclusion of the OCR investigation," the letter stated.
Comments
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 30, 2023 at 10:39 am
Registered user
on May 30, 2023 at 10:39 am
I can't comment on how discriminatory this is for special needs students, but it is a lottery based selection for the immersion programs and also for regular Ohlone.
When Mandarin Immersion was instituted many years ago, we were promised that there would be an effort to introduce FLES (foreign languages in elementary schools) for all students not just for the lucky few lottery winners. That never happened. It is disgraceful that there is no foreign languages taught to all at the age level where most success in a target language with things like accent and grammar can become fluent.
Foreign language is not only useful for the target language, but is actually very instrumental in improving English language skills even for native speakers. As anyone who can attest to learning a foreign language (even english if it is a second language) it is much easier to do as early as possible.
Many parents are now paying for after school language instruction in a private setting. French is not as popular as it once was, but then Russian was also popular at one time. However, even having basic Spanish which would definitely be useful to most Californian students, would be better than having absolutely no language taught in the majority of our elementary classrooms.
Hopefully, this will be something that comes from this investigation.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on May 30, 2023 at 11:13 am
Registered user
on May 30, 2023 at 11:13 am
I’m not sure this article makes the context clear enough and I’m concerned that it will give some the wrong impression. While certainly there are situations when OCR independently opens investigations, that is not what happened in this case. An Ohlone parent initiated proceedings with OCR. My understanding is that these investigations take at least 180 days and when the findings are complete, the district will share what they are able to publicly.
Registered user
Community Center
on May 30, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Registered user
on May 30, 2023 at 2:50 pm
Having Room 19 at Ohlone allows those students with disabilities to have an opportunity to participate in a community with a specific focus. The philosophy at Ohlone of project based learning is actually a perfect fit for these students. There is an environment of cooperation and community building among the classrooms that benefits the Moderate to Severely disabled students and they have a right to that opportunity. Of course, it also benefits the mainstream classrooms to have the opportunity to build relationships with the students in Room 19.
It is frustrating and sad that once again this Superintendent makes decisions that affect the welfare of many students and families without considering the consequences on the children and families involved. We can only hope that this decision will be reversed before the children have to suffer through losing their teacher and school.
Registered user
another community
on May 30, 2023 at 3:39 pm
Registered user
on May 30, 2023 at 3:39 pm
OCR is historically and pathetically slow to investigate or instigate change. That's the same agency that ordered PAUSD to implement a system to confidentially complain about harassment. I asked questioned OCR's effectiveness during that dustup about a certain teacher, and no one volunteered any information that they knew of the orders by OCR, or had any proof OCR was enforcing anything, or that OCR had even been notified that PAUSD is not incompliance with the orders they wrote in 2017. That said, what other solutions are there? File a lawsuit. Even if OCR does investigate, it will be years before a decision will be made. A lawsuit is the quickest route to justice. The statute of limitations for a lawsuit will run out before OCR decides anything.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on May 30, 2023 at 5:11 pm
Registered user
on May 30, 2023 at 5:11 pm
The children with disabilities are treated like pawns in the school district. They move them to schools with low enrollment or decide their future in other ways - like limiting access to programs like young fives or choice schools. PA USD doesn’t care about the mental health of special needs families. They don’t want to give these children a fair opportunity to be in a school with their neurotypical peers and siblings. They even changed the young fives program to reject kids with IEPs right at the beginning starting this year. Parents tried to appeal but they were rejected with unsatisfactory reasons.
It’s almost as if PA USD hates disabled children and their families. They don’t want disabled children with the rest of the population - as if their sole existence brings down the ratings. They should investigate the school district thoroughly.
Ohlone is great for neurodiverse children. Their philosophy, the farm and the inclusion model etc., would transform the lives of the children. Ohlone was known for the best mod/severe program in the district. Instead of upgrading the rest of the schools, expanding mandarin immersion or training more mod/severe staff members, Don Austin and some board members decided to tear down the room 19 altogether. The neurotypical siblings of mod/severe kids have to make a sacrifice to stay with their friends or move with their siblings.
The school district’s next move is to remove the word “choice” from the choice school to circumvent the system. Truly shameful. History will show this appalling behavior by the board members. They’re harming the psychological safety of the families and the students. Being born disabled is not sin. We deserve equal opportunities too. We deserve inclusion and respect. The children deserve better.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on May 30, 2023 at 10:00 pm
Registered user
on May 30, 2023 at 10:00 pm
How incredibly sad for these children. These are some of our most vulnerable children -- we need to put their needs first. *Maybe* the right thing to do is to consolidate the special ed families. But did no one at the district think about the fact that OHLONE -- an amazing, wonderful place for many kids (and especially those with special needs) -- would be taken away from them? If you're going to consolidate the special ed rooms, then consolidate them and keep ohlone's as-is. Good for these families for reporting this violation, and good for the government for pursuing a formal investigation. There's a real problem in the district.
Registered user
Southgate
on May 31, 2023 at 12:03 am
Registered user
on May 31, 2023 at 12:03 am
All I want for Christmas is one bleeping decent school superintendent.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on May 31, 2023 at 6:58 am
Registered user
on May 31, 2023 at 6:58 am
[Portion removed.] People may like or dislike the superintendent, depending on the direction (although that's really the board, not the superintendent), but they shouldn't FEAR him. They should also be able to trust that he's being honest about reasons, data, etc.
Registered user
another community
on May 31, 2023 at 7:01 am
Registered user
on May 31, 2023 at 7:01 am
My daughter who had language delay and mild autism thrived at Ohlone under the care of a dedicated staff and administration. Though middle and high school were a challenge, she graduated with honors and is set to graduate college next spring.
Her time at Ohlone pre-dates Mr. Austin and his #1 Niche regime. It's sad to see him gutting so many things that made PAUSD great in the name of "equity" and the pursuit of superficial rankings and bond ratings. The district has taken a pronounced downturn under his tenure. It is time for change.
Registered user
Midtown
on Jun 1, 2023 at 10:46 am
Registered user
on Jun 1, 2023 at 10:46 am
This is directed to the comment by Palo Alto Mom in Crescent Park. Your words could be misconstrued to mean that OCR investigates every single complaint that is made by a family, which is not the case obviously. Like other government agencies, they make a determination whether to open an investigation. How they framed the issues in this specific investigation is interesting - community members should be watching closely.
Registered user
Old Palo Alto
on Jun 2, 2023 at 5:34 am
Registered user
on Jun 2, 2023 at 5:34 am
Shame on our Board of Education. They hired our current Superintendent without conducting reasonable due diligence, bringing a problematic Superintendent from SoCal to our (formerly) exceptional School District.
Over the years that Austin has served as the top brass at PAUSD, he chose to "cut costs" by: (1) firing the teachers with the most experience (who therefore were the most expensive) by strong-arming early retirement packages; (2) closing our public schools the earliest day he could for covid and opening them the latest day, despite universal studies showing that campus closings were harmful for children; (3) defunding virtually every sport other than football, while also taking punitive measures against school spirit; (4) demonstrating [portion removed] indifference to the continuing problem of both sexual and racial harassment and violence at our middle and high schools; (5) modifying the high school bell schedule so school ends at 4.30 PM 3 days a week, making it impossible for students who need to care for younger siblings or work after school to provide essential help; (6) making summer break shorter, instead increasing random 3-day weekends. [Portion removed.]
After Austin's predecessor left in part due to the pandemic of sexual harassment and violence at the high schools, as well as his record of harmful indifference to kids with learning differences, one would think that the School Board would have taken reasonable steps to find a replacement with proven skills of relationship building, and a record of inclusive culture creation. Instead they hired a former football coach [portion removed.] It was a bad hire, done without community input, and instead of cutting their losses, our elected leaders deny & defend.
Meanwhile, students--especially minority students, girls, & students with learning differences--suffer. Enough already. The Board must replace him or be recalled.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Aug 18, 2023 at 12:12 pm
Registered user
on Aug 18, 2023 at 12:12 pm
Is there a copy of the OCR complaint?