美国国家公共电台 NPR Texas May Be Denying Tens Of Thousands Of Children Special Education

Texas May Be Denying Tens Of Thousands Of Children Special Education 

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Many parents in Texas say they tried and failed to get their struggling children access to special education. And now they may know why. New revelations indicate that the state has arbitrarily capped special education enrollment² at 8.5 percent. Here's Bill Zeeble with our member station KERA in Dallas.

BILL ZEEBLE, BYLINE³: That percentage, the lowest of any state in the country, doesn't make sense to Mike Moses. He was the Texas education commissioner⁴ from 1995 to 1999.

MIKE MOSES: It just doesn't seem to me that we would likely see a decrease in the number of special education children. At one time, we had a state average of probably 11 or 12 percent.

ZEEBLE: Moses says the number of low birthweight babies, teen pregnancies⁵, kids in poverty - not to mention the entire Texas student population - has only grown. What's shrunk is the state's special education enrollment - down to 8.5 percent. The national average - 13 percent. The Houston Chronicle reported last month that low percentage was picked arbitrarily, chosen to cut costs.

ROSLY ESPINOZA: (Speaking Spanish).

ZEEBLE: Rosly Espinoza may be paying the price. In pre-kindergarten, her daughter, Citlali, seemed distracted and sometimes acted out. She speaks through translator Maria Sanchez.

ESPINOZA: (Through interpreter) It all, you know, started with school issues, lack of interest, teachers' notes...

ZEEBLE: Espinoza asked school officials to evaluate her daughter. But they didn't. In second grade, she says, things got worse.

ESPINOZA: (Through interpreter) She stopped paying attention in class - harassing⁶ other children. In some occasions, she would yell. So at some point, it did cause her stress and depression.

ZEEBLE: And those were some of the symptoms that led a doctor to diagnose Citlali with several disorders⁷ and prescribe her medication. The school offered counseling - but still no additional education services in the classroom.

District reports show Citlali was extremely smart but remained aggressive and continued hitting classmates while struggling with school. Frustrated⁸, Espinoza got an attorney. Kym Rogers with the advocacy organization Disability Rights Texas says the child finally got evaluated.

KYM ROGERS: Because I requested it.

ZEEBLE: Rogers says it shouldn't have taken a lawyer's note for an evaluation⁹ but believes the paper trail forced action.

ROGERS: Every school district has an obligation to identify students who are eligible¹⁰ for special education. And they're not to just wait for a parent request for an evaluation. If there's reason to suspect there's a disability, the school district has an obligation to do that evaluation.

ZEEBLE: An obligation by law - after Citlali's evaluation, the district agreed she qualified¹¹ for special education with an emotional disturbance¹² in Lancaster, south of Dallas, where Citlali goes to school. The district's special education enrollment is 7.8 percent. Rogers believes that evaluation was delayed to keep Citlali from receiving those services.

ROGERS: I think that districts are under a lot of pressure to comply with TEA.

ZEEBLE: Lancaster school officials said in an email that there was no pressure from the Texas Education Agency, and the district does what's best for children. Meanwhile, federal officials are asking the TEA to explain and justify¹³ its 8.5 percent benchmark and show that no qualified students were denied special education services. For NPR News, I'm Bill Zeeble in Dallas.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

6 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

7 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

12 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

13 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？