The Constitutional and Statutory Obligations of Schools to Prevent Students with Disabilities From Dropping Out

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Students with disabilities graduate from high schools at a rate that is half that of their general education peers. This low rate endures despite access to educational programs that should be tailored to students' unique needs. This situation raises concern about how to help more students stay in school until graduation. One avenue worth considering is whether schools have satisfied the various legal standards designed to ensure that students benefit from an appropriate education. This article considers these legal standards and suggests that, in some cases, schools may fall short of their obligations to these students. Specifically, schools may need to treat the decision to drop students from schools as a change in placement, afford these students various due process procedures, and regard dropout prevention as a related service.