Teach Effectively!

The local education agency (LEA) in Frederick County Maryland (US) obtained a restraining order prohibiting 10-year old Bill Hutchinson from attending school because, according to the school, he has repeatedly behaved aggressively toward members of the staff, according to Fredrick Kunkle of the Washington Post (DC, US). The boy’s parents dispute the LEA’s description of Bill’s behavior, contend that the school handles the misbehavior inappropriately, and resist the LEA’s recommendation for a change of placement to a school serving students with disabilities.

He has bitten, growled, screamed and used abusive language. He has spit at staff members, rammed his head into their faces, tripped them, hit them with his fists and wrapped his hands around a staff member’s throat and threatened to strangle her. During one outburst Jan. 31, staff members had to escort him to the office, and he fought the entire way. After being placed in a room for a timeout that day, he stripped naked and stayed that way for about 30 minutes. On Oct. 17, the staff was forced to evacuate the rest of the class until he calmed down, the filings say.

Mr. Kunkle identified several matters accurately (e.g., there is reference to IDEA’s 10-day suspension provision), but there are a host of them possble in this story. Here’s a list of a few of them:

• At the top of my list: Has the LEA employed appropriate behavior management practices? Has the staff completed a well-designed functional behavioral assessment, developed a sensible behavior intervention plan, and implemented the plan faithfully?
• An argument advanced by the Bill’s mother (that “on a day when Bill allegedly caused a significant disturbance in the cafeteria, he brought home a ’smiley card’ for good behavior”) admits to other possible interpretations (e.g., someone ill-advisedly provided the smiley card because Bill behaved appropriately later in the day). Other arguments advanced by the parents appear largely to be based on interpreting other’s intentions negatively.
• The question about having students attend special schools is still a hot one and deserves investigation. What’s the program like at the school that the LEA proposes is a more appropriate faciilty for Bill? What’s its record for handling children with substantial behavior problems? Does the school provide effective academic instruction?

The LEA has a responsibility to teach Bill appropriate school behavior. With evidence-based instruction, it is possible to do so. The teaching may need to take place in a specialized setting, but it can be done. I hope that Mr. Kunkle follows up on this story, examining some of these questions.

The story is referenced on a couple of blogs. Over on the Sundries Shack, Jimmie commented about an aspect of the story—Bill’s mother reported that she received a good-behavior note on one of the days when the LEA says he acted out—by saying “I also wonder what procedural problems, in the case of the young student, allowed the school to send home good behavior reports when the child’s behavior was anything but good.” There is one comment on Sundries Shack expressing concern about whether Bill’s peers are able to receive a good education when he is misbehaving in class. Susan Ohanian has also covered the story, but without comment. Tripod Deer Stands has it, but also just seems to have scraped the Post site for the story; this blog may have grabbed the story because of a local slant to the blog.

Link to Mr. Kunkle’s article. Link to the coverage on Sundries Shack. Link to Susan Ohanian’s reprint of Mr. Kunkle’s article. Link to Tripod Deer Stands reprint.