Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/3058
Suspension of special education CAHSEE hailed T here was one silver lin- ing in this year’s draco- nian budget: Special education students will no longer have to pass the Cali- fornia High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in order to receive a diploma if they pass Special Education Commit- tee, who teaches eighth-grad- ers with learning disabilities in San Jose. “It has been very hard for them. They want to be like everyone else and pass that test. Too much emphasis on CAHSEE has been to their detriment.” “We’re hoping it will be a long- term, permanent solution,” adds Walsh, a member of the Oak Grove Education Asso- ciation. “It’s kind of a above: Christina Williams, a special day class teacher and member of the San Juan Teachers Association, says decision on CAHSEE was a “step in the right direction.” below: KC Walsh, chair of CTA’s Special Education Committee. all their classes and have enough credits to graduate. The budget signed by the governor last July suspended the exit exam graduation re- quirement for special educa- tion students in the class of 2010 and perhaps after that. It was part of a compromise move after Democrats pro- posed doing away with the CAHSEE requirements dur- ing budget negotiations. “We’re grateful this hap- pened for these students,” says KC Walsh, chair of CTA’s temporary re- prieve until they come up with a solution,” says Ed Amundson, a high school spe- cial education teacher in Sacra- mento and chair of NEA’s Nation- al Special Educa- t io nP r o j e c t. “Who k nows what’s going to happen?” The governor signed Assembly Bill 2040 by Fabian Nuñez, former speaker of the Assem- bly, over a year ago. It paves the way for develop- ment of “alterna- t ive testing” of s tudents wi t h learning disabili- ties based upon the recommenda- tion of a panel of “experts” selected by the State Board of Education. Until a form of al ternat ive testing is ap- 24 California Educator | september 2009 proved, special education students are off the hook. However, with no firm dead- line, it’s unknown how long the “shelf life” of the exemp- tion will last, says Amund- son. And the exemp t io n will not apply retroactively to the tens of thousands of students de- nied diplo- mas in 2008 a nd 2009. Special edu- c at ion stu- dents were is- sued “certifi- cates of com- plet ion” or al t e r n a ti v e diplomas in a few commu- nities, includ- ing Fresno and Cuperti- no. Accord- ing to law, students were also given the option of additional time in high school. Some of Amundson’s stu- “We need to recognize these students for their attendance, work and participation in their classes and earning good grades despite their learning disabilities.” Christina Williams, San Juan Teachers Association. Some special education students, says Amundson, will likely never pass the CAHSEE no matter how hard they try. And because t h ey wer e forced to take s o m a n y CAHSEE in- t er v en t io n classes, they were unable to enroll in voca- tional classes to make them employable. “ F o r t h e next two years, I won’t focus so much on the CAHSEE,” he says. “Now my students wi l l be able to get the vocational c l ass e s that they need but weren’t able to get in the past. And mean - while, Sacra- me n t o has time to come up with some real solutions.” “I think the decision was dents returned for a fifth year of high school and passed the CAHSEE. Others came back and did not pass. Last year dur- ing budget nego- tiations, CTA ar- gued that if the state was going to k eep cu t t in g funds, students couldn’t be expected to meet the state’s requirements. definitely a step in the right direction,” says Christina Williams, a special day class teacher and member of the San Juan Teachers Associa- tion. “We need to recognize these students for their at- tendance, work and partici- pation in their classes and earning good grades despite their learning disabi lit ies. Those things should be suf- ficient measures for their success and to ensure that they graduate.” sherry posnick-Goodwin Photos by Scott Buschman