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News and Press from the TLAC
Center for Children's Advocacy and Connecticut
Legal Services Negotiate Closing of Bridgeport's Illegal Night School
Program
Until this month, Bridgeport high school students
with poor attendance, behavior problems, or serious academic difficulties
were often transferred to the "At-Night" programs operating in each
of Bridgeport's three high schools. These programs, which primarily
relied on an internet-based curriculum and required students to
work independently with minimal teacher support, offered only two-thirds
of the yearly classroom hours required by state law.
"Most of the students referred to these programs
did not believe they had any choice in the matter," said Center
for Children's Advocacy Attorney Josh Michtom, "and they didn't
know that they were not receiving the education they are entitled
to by law."
In the fall of 2009, CCA Staff Attorney Josh
Michtom spoke with Catherine Williams, an attorney in Connecticut
Legal Services' Bridgeport office whose work focuses on education
law. Both lawyers had teen clients who had been referred to Bridgeport's
At-Night programs, and both were concerned about the effectiveness
and legality of the programs. They were especially concerned that
students who should be evaluated for special education were not
receiving those evaluations or any needed services. Students who
were identified as needing special education services were not receiving
appropriate support in the night programs.
"For many kids, placement in the At Night programs
accomplished the opposite of the original objective of those programs
- credit recovery. The lack of teacher support, minimal expectations,
and exclusion from usual high school activities resulted in students
becoming further behind academically and even less motivated to
attend and work hard in school. It was practically an invitation
to drop out," noted Attorney Williams.
Williams and Michtom jointly met with Assistant
Superintendents Denise Clemons and John Di Donato of the Bridgeport
Board of Education. The same day, following up on Williams' and
Michtom's concerns, one of the Assistant Superintendents personally
visited the program and initiated a moratorium on new referrals
to the At Night programs. The Assistant Superintendents agreed to
follow-up meetings with Williams and Michtom to determine what the
district would do to resolve the situation.
During the weeks following the initial meeting,
Attorney Michtom conducted an investigation of the At-Night program
at Harding High School, where he runs the Center for Children's
Advocacy's Teen Legal Clinic. After speaking to students, guidance
counselors, administrators, and other school personnel he has worked
with during the two years the clinic has been on site at Harding
High School, Michtom learned that most of the students in the Harding
At-Night Program had been placed in the program for disciplinary
reasons without any hearing. Of the 110 students enrolled, only
about 20 showed up on any given night.
Michtom and Williams prepared a letter to Assistant
Superintendents Clemons and Di Donato in which they detailed the
results of the investigation and the At-Night programs' legal and
practical shortcomings. The attorneys proposed that the Board of
Education shut down the programs immediately and transfer all students
back to the regular, day-school program. Clemons and Di Donato agreed.
To successfully transition students back to
regular high school day programs, individualized meetings will be
held for all students registered in the At-Night programs at Bassick,
Central and Harding high schools. Individualized plans for students
needing special education services will be changed to provide appropriate
supports and placements for them. Student Assistance Team meetings
will be held for all other students to consider referral for evaluations
and address supports that will enable them to be successful in high
school.
Bridgeport high schools have begun conducting
individualized meetings for each student to plan the transition
back to the day program, and by January 25, 2010, all of Bridgeport's
high school students will have access to the classes and programs
required by state law. The At-Night program will now function only
as an optional, credit-recovery program which is supplementary to
- not in place of - the high school program.
This represents a significant victory on several
fronts:
First and foremost, it will give hundreds of
youth in Bridgeport access to better educational options and prevent
schools from marginalizing difficult students;
Second, it shows the unique strength of CCA's
school-based legal program to provide insight into the challenges
kids face in getting adequate education;
Third, it highlights the gains to be realized
through collaboration among different agencies devoted to serving
the interests of poor children. In particular, the receptiveness
and effective response of Clemons and Di Donato demonstrates how
much can be accomplished without costly litigation.
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