Chaos: Is ADHD an excuse for punching classmate and a teacher?

"Tristan" punched a ninth-grade classmate. A teacher who tried to stop the fight got a bloody nose and swollen lip. The teenager was suspended for more than three weeks, but a hearing officer later ruled that violated his rights as a special-education student, reports Alex Zimmerman on Chalkbeat. Diagnosed with ADHD, Tristan hadn't received promised counseling sessions to "address impulse control and anger management."

"New York City’s public schools routinely flout federal rules designed to prevent schools from removing children from class for long periods due to behavior related to their disabilities, reports a Chalkbeat investigation. If Tristan's disability had been considered a factor in the fight, the hearing office ruled, he could have been suspended for only one week.

Students with disabilities are far more likely to be suspended than non-disabled peers. In part, that's because behavioral and emotional issues such as oppositional defiant disorder are disabilities.

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires schools to educate disabled students with non-disabled students when possible, writes Zimmerman. If a student's misbehavior is related to a disability, "the student is supposed to return to class immediately, and the school is required to conduct a behavior assessment." There are exceptions for "extreme violence, drugs, or weapons possession."

"Students who are suspended for more than five days are typically sent to alternate learning centers away from their school, an environment students say is often dull or chaotic," reports Zimmerman.

There are lots of studies saying suspended students do poorly in school and life. It would be astounding if they didn't. The alternative school is chaotic? Students don't learn much? No kidding.

The other anecdotal student, Malachi, faced a monthlong suspension, again for fighting another student and injuring two teachers who tried to stop it. The school staff decided the 13-year-old’s ADHD and oppositional defiance disorder wasn't a major factor, but that was overturned by a hearing officer, who said the school hadn't followed proper procedures. The boy's counselor and his full-time, one-on-one "behavioral support aide"didn't testify. His history of anger and impulsivity -- he got in fights a lot -- wasn't considered as a mitigating factor.

Malachi, who'd already served the suspension, was awarded 126 hours of one-on-one tutoring to make up for the disruptions in his education. There was no tutoring for his disrupted classmates.

Tristan for 900 hours of one-on-one tutoring, but mother couldn't get him to attend, she told Zimmerman. He was suspended again. Finally, she sent him to live with an aunt in upstate New York. To his mother's surprise, he started doing better in school, found an after-school jobs and plans to go to trade school to be a plumber.

Was getting kicked out by his mother a wake-up call? Does the aunt have higher expectations? (Is there an uncle in the house?) Perhaps Tristan just grew up and decided he wanted a future.

On the Century Foundation blog, Kayla Patrick argues that Trump's "common sense" order on school discipline will lead to "overdisciplining" students with disabilities without improving school safety.

"In recent years, schools across the country have made measurable progress in reducing exclusionary discipline — suspensions, expulsions, and other practices that remove students from the classroom — while making school environments more positive and safe for all students," Patrick writes. "These gains show that the choice between maintaining an 'orderly' environment and supporting all students is a false one." 

But are there gains? Suspensions and expulsions are down, but teachers and parents report more disorder and violence in schools. I think it's a big reason why teachers quit and parents pull their kids out for homeschooling or private schools.

Special education is very expensive and often ineffective. It contributes to the push to lower expectations. I think we need a rethink of IDEA, not just an executive order. But the politics are very difficult.