MIKE RUPERT
While D.C. schools officials have touted recent successes in improving D.C. Public Schools' court-supervised special education program, the number of parents filing grievances with the court has more than doubled since 2000, school officials said.
In 2000, there were 1,558 due process hearings requested by parents who felt DCPS was not meeting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requirements. In the first five months of this year, 1,652 hearings have already been requested, according to data obtained by The Examiner.
DCPS spends an estimated $12 million annually in attorneys fees for hearings and has nine full-time attorneys dedicated solely to special education. Each attorney spends an average of five hours per day in due process hearings, five days a week, according to schools officials.
The District has more due process hearings than any other state in the country, officials said.
"Too many parents simply don't trust the system," said Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed, which issued a comprehensive report on the city's special education system in 2003.
Smith said the complaints have diverted millions from educational programs and into the hands of attorneys. And most of the hearings, he said, could have been avoided.
Mary Lee Phelps, interim associate superintendent for special education, said DCPS has made strides and is working closely with parents to avoid expensive court hearings.
"If we can improve our programs, parents won't be concerned about them," Phelps said. "We need to be more accountable and more responsive, and we will be."
DCPS in the Courtroom
- In 2002, DCPS had a greater number of due process hearings than the entire state of California.
- DCPS special education enrollment: 11,492
- State of California special education students: 670,000
- Nationally, 12 percent of grievances lead to a due process hearing.
- In D.C., 97 percent lead to hearings.
- In 2000, an average of 130 hearings were requested each month.
- In 2004, an average of 310 hearing were requested each month.
