Special Education in Connecticut

TerminologyThe Connecticut Approach
The federal law governing special education is calledThe Connecticut State Department of Education
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. (SDE) takes a hand-off approach to local school
It is codified in Title 20, United States Code, starting atboards.  This compares to New York, where the
section 1400.  It was initially passed in 1975.  Astate department closely regulates most aspects of
number of major reauthorizations have taken place. special education.  The Connecticut SDE advises local
The two most recent were in 1997 and in Decemberschool boards on questions, when raised.  Indeed,
2004.  The December 2004 changes took effect, forSDE also provides advice to parents.  The state
the most part, on July 1, 2005. The changes made inapproves private special education schools, but the
the 2004 Act are numerous and varied, but perhapsapproval is largely a matter of seeing if the right boxes
not revolutionary.are checked, rather than looking at the quality of the
In early 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Lefteducation provided.  The state, pursuant to federal
Behind Act (NCLB) which is intended to ensure qualitylaw, receives and processes complaints, but appears
education and a high level of accountability.  Many ofto be interested only in procedural requirements,
the provisions of NCLB had an uncertain impact onavoiding making any comments on the substance of
IDEA 1997.  Hence, IDEA 2004 attempts to clarify thethe claim.  And, the state runs the due process and
impact of NCLB.mediation systems.  This is all done by a tiny group of
The IDEA speaks in terms of a State Educationpeople in Hartford.  The SDE also runs the Special
Authority (SEA) and a Local Education AuthorityEducation Resource Center (SERC), which serves as
(LEA).  In Connecticut, the SEA is the Statean information clearinghouse, library, and training
Department of Education.  The LEA is generally thecenter.  As a general rule, the State Department of
local school district, which is referred to as the districtEducation sees itself as a consultant, rather than as a
or the Board.  In this context, the Board refers to theregulator.
district’s administration, not to the actual Board ofThe Special Education Universe in Connecticut
Education and its elected members.For the 2007-2008 school year, there were 68,989
State and Federal Lawchildren in Connecticut who were designated as eligible
Connecticut passed its special education law in 1967. for special education services.  This number is a drop
The federal Education of All Handicapped Children Actof 5,000 from five years earlier.  Special education
initially passed in 1975.  Hence, the Connecticut actstudents represent about 12% of the total student
predates the federal.  The federal law did notpopulation of 574,287.  Districts vary widely in
pre-empt the field.  Rather, federal courts canpercentages designated as eligible for special
enforce both federal and relevant state law. education, with some districts near 5% and others
"Relevant state law" is law which is not inconsistentover 18%.
with federally mandated requirements, both substantiveAmong disabilities, the largest group, comprising 32% of
and procedural, of the Act, and includes, inter alia,the special education population, consists of students
procedural safeguards which are more stringent thanwith learning disabilities (LD).  Five years ago, learning
required procedures set forth in the federal law. disabled students represented 38% of the special
Burlington v. Department of Education, 736 F.2d 773education population.  The next largest group,
(1st Cir. 1984), aff’d 471 U.S. 359 (1985).  For theaccounting for 21% of the special education population,
most part, Connecticut and federal requirements havecontains students with speech or language
converged.  Yet, most of the detailed procedures forimpairments.  Other health impairment (OHI) accounts
eligibility and due process stem from Connecticut law,for 17%, severe emotional disturbance (SED) is 8.5%
as does the nomenclature.  In Connecticut, there is aand intellectual disabilities (ID) are 4%.  Some 6.4% of
Planning and Placement Team (PPT) meeting.  Inspecial education students in Connecticut carry the
New York, it is called a Committee on SpecialAutism label.  The racial differences are, however,
Education (CSE) meeting.  In the federallaw, it is calledsignificant.  The following chart shows the 2007-2008
an Individualized Education Plan Team (IEP Team)percentage of each racial/ethnic grouping that has a
meeting.particular special education designation.